A Shattered Reality
by 0n3dgeGaming
Summary: Let's be honest, most fanfictions involving OCs... aren't exactly an accurate example of how things would probably go. This story, is how I perceive things would go if I ACTUALLY ended up in Gamindustri. Side note: I don't think things are going to go very well for me. ...Calling it now, I die via Dogoo. (Chapters 22 and onward contain spoilers for Super Neptunia RPG)
1. Day 1: Death by Dogoo

I have a question, one that's been nagging at me for a while now.

If you were able to be in a favourite TV show, movie, book, or game universe instead of the one you're currently in, would you give everything up at the drop of a hat?

It seems simple right? No? It doesn't? Okay, good… it's good to know I'm not the only one who thinks that…

Allow me to ask, if you did do such a thing that is, would you think back on what your loved ones would think? Would you even care? Would the temptation to leave all of the pain behind be worth it? Or would said pain be replaced by a newfound regret?

I'm not normally this sentimental, but I've had a lot on my mind. I'm normally light hearted, people who know me would agree that i'm distracted easily and not really very emotional, tending to close myself off a fair amount, only letting out mild negative emotions as well as the more upbeat ones people know me for.

Those who know me better understand that I also have a serious side, one that doesn't come out unless necessary.

...I should get to the point. I'm a fanfiction author, but… you probably know that if you've read my stories. And… well, I'm… not exactly somewhere I would think physically possible. Hell, I would question if I was in a coma, but after what had happened… I doubt it.

I'll start at the beginning… when I got sandwiched in between the two forces known as Cause and Effect.

* * *

 _ **Time Update: Some time in the past**_

It was 2:40 EST, school had ended for the day and I was currently grabbing my bag from my chair, wanting nothing more than to get out of my English class and go home.

I walked out of the classroom, before feeling my phone vibrate in my back pocket. Pulling out said device delivered the knowledge that my mom was driving back home from Toronto, and wouldn't be able to make it in time to pick me up.

I was walking home today.

Now let's move over to this question of Cause and Effect, and how I ended up in my current situation.

See… you can't have Effect, without Cause, and but you can have Cause, without effect. But the notion of time for that isn't a possibility. While an Effect needs a Cause, A Cause can occur, and then an Effect occurs as if all one fluid motion.

Now I bring up the question. What happens when you get stuck in that eventuality that is the connecting space between the two?

Nothing.

And by nothing, I mean NOTHING happens.

That was how things were when I took that first step out of the school, because as soon as my foot connected with the asphalt, everything around me seemed to just stop, and then shutter back a second.

My vision turned grey, as the colour slowly drained from everything. It grew deathly quiet, as I attempted to move.

The key word in this situation Is _attempted_.

I was stuck, I couldn't move, I couldn't turn to look anywhere else, my eyes stayed glued to the spot in front of me. I tried to breath, but found that I couldn't. It wasn't my lack of movement, but it was also the fact that the air seemed to have been frozen in place.

It was like I was encased in stone, with the air around me being my cage.

I felt my lungs ache, and my body ached just trying to ache from the lack of oxygen in my system. I couldn't even tense my body up due to the fact that I COULDN'T!

And then suddenly… I heard a crack.

It wasn't the normal kind of crack you hear, it was the kind of crack that you hear when you're experimenting with something basically world ending and the containment chamber had gained a crack.

It was the sound of what I could only describe as the most terrifying thing I've ever heard.

Then, one after another, I heard more and more cracks. At first, nothing happened, before something crumbled away from my right eyes, as what seemed to be a very bright dot of light poked my exposed eye.

More and more my vision started to clear, before the air around my nose crumbled, as I took a deep breath, and then everything crashed.

I was immediately dropped to the ground, as I felt my body ache in both pain and relief. I rolled onto my back, just taking in as much air as humanly possible after almost dying via Asphyxiation.

I slowly sat up, before looking around me. I wasn't at my school, that is for damn sure. I pulled out my Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo, before checking if I had service.

Sure enough, I wasn't that lucky. I looked around, taking in my surroundings. I seemed to be in some kind of heavily forested area, judging by the trees. It wasn't overgrown, but it was more green than expected.

I sighed, this wasn't getting me anywhere. At this rate, I would be more likely to drive myself into the dirt than find any source of salvation. I wasn't prepared for such a thing anyways. I was a 16 year old kid who's body was equipped with a spare tire. I wasn't fat, mind you, but my stomach could do with not being as big as it was.

I put my headphones on, running my hand along the play button of the Koteon Each Bluetooth headphones that adorned my head now.

I let the music talent that was Nathan Sharp fill my ears, as I calmed myself down enough to start walking in whatever direction.

* * *

This is going nowhere… fast.

I had been walking for the better half of 3 hours now. At least… I think it's been 3 hours, I've lost track.

I sighed, slouching up against a nearby tree. I needed a breather, as it felt like my lungs were trying to kill me.

After taking a few minutes to get myself together, I found the fatigue I suffered was a bit much, as I slowly passed out.

...I awoke to the feeling of being licked. I snapped my eyes open, finding 3 slime looking doggos on my chest.

I immediately shot my hands across my chest, removing the slimes from my form, as I took a precautionary step back.

I stopped, before looking around me, finding I was surrounded by a small group of the Slimes, about 8 of them, including the 3 on my chest.

"...What the f*ck…" I said aloud. These slimes… I've seen these kind before… But where again…

"Dogoo!"

...Oh…. Ah…. Well… that clears things up.

I looked around in a panic, finding that there was no convenient weapon around me.

"Dammit! Why the hell is there never any convenient steel pipes that basically appear whenever it's convenient for me!?" I questioned the universe, thinking back to one sailor moon fic I ran across while bored one day.

"Dogoo!"

It appears that the dogoos around me were done with my feeble attempts at life, as they started to close in.

"Welp, this was a fun life… no matter how screwed up it got." I said to myself. "...Never realized that I would probably just die instantly due to Dogoos if I ended up here…"

I stopped, before thinking for a second.

"You know… with a bit of hindsight, I'm pretty sure EVERY OC would have died this way if logic actually worked in fanfiction…" I stopped, realizing that I was no longer in danger.

"...Where the f*ck did all the slimes go?" I asked myself, looking around. True to my word, they were gone.

"So it seems you're done having an internal monologue." Said a voice, as I turned to see a girl with fox ears and a tail, at least, I assumed they were fox based. Her outfit was a white and green top that reveals her midriff, and a black top the same length underneath that. She wears green and white shorts with an orange belt and green buckle with what I only could assume was her logo on it as well.

"...Yeah, I guess I am." I said, letting out a nervous *gulp*. "...Uh… thanks for saving my skin there…"

"No problem!" Said the girl. "My name's CyberConnect2, but just call me Cybercon."

"Sure." I said. "Bryce. Bryce Bridged." I held my hand out, as my saviour shook my hand. "...Where exactly am I?"

"You don't know?" CyberConnect2 asked, to which I nodded, albeit a bit sheepishly. "You're in Virtua Forest right now. Speaking of, why are you here anyways? You said you didn't know where you were, but being in one of these dungeons isn't exactly someone just gets lost in."

"...Would you believe me if I said that I honestly don't know?" I said, crossing my arms.

"I'd be inclined not to… but seeing as it seems you honestly don't got a clue… I'll accept it." CyberConnect2 Said. "Since you probably don't want to be here, I can escort you out of here and take you to Planeptune, if you want."

I mulled this proposition over in my head, before my brain remembered that I do things without thinking first.

"That'd be nice, thanks." I said. "It's better than ending up as a slimy residue…"

I shuttered, I haven't had the displeasure that the females of this universe have probably had dealing with Dogoos, but I feel I got pretty close to that and I do NOT want to experience that sh*t.

CyberConnect2 motioned for me to follow her, which I did, because at this current moment, I'd be more likely to end up dead if I didn't accept her help.

* * *

 _ **Location Updated:**_ **Planeptune**

"Hey, thanks for the help." I said to CyberConnect2. "Maybe I'll see you around Cybercon."

"Maybe." She said, before we parted to go on our separate ways.

"...Now what the hell do I do?" I asked myself, looking around.

It had at this moment come to my attention that I currently had no place of residence, no money, and no weapon in which to defend myself with, in case I try working for the guild, which in normal Fanfic circumstance, I probably would have went there by now.

"...Well, I can see if the Guild would be willing to loan a weapon, or at least use the payment I get from a quest to buy said weapon I would have been using…" I mumbled to myself. "...Then there's the question of what kind of weapon… I'm not trained in swords, not going down that route, no thanks… Maybe a gun? That could work… Then again, nerf guns aren't really firearms... so my experience is again lacking…"

I stopped and looked up. My eyes landed on what I could only assume to be NPC's, as they seemed to be just an outline of a generic character shaded either blue or pink for gender, and there was a LOT more pink than blue. I sighed, realizing how much of a sore thumb I must be right now. Doesn't help that I'm male myself, this will just make things uncomfortable. I was already socially awkward, this is going to make things suck a lot more now.

I kept walking towards the Guild, my train of thought returning to the empty discussion about the kind of weapon I would use that was going on in my head a few minutes ago. As I reached the building, I felt strangely claustrophobic for a split second, which, after what had just happened, made me feel all kinds of uneasy.

"...I have a bad feeling about this…" I said to myself, as I walked into the guild.

The first thing I notice is how busy the whole place is. Fanfics don't really do a good job of showing you how busy these places are, and the games themselves don't show you the bunch of people moving around due to them focusing on the main characters. So it's safe to say it was a shock to me when I had to squeeze my way to the front desk.

As I approached the desk, I turned to my left to see an area of the guild that was… surprisingly not as busy. It looked the same as the area I was currently in, but still. I took a step towards there, but that same feeling of claustrophobic-ness recurred, and I took a step back.

"...That's unnerving." I said to myself, before trying to get a better look. To my surprise, I found 2 characters standing in front of a terminal, picking out a quest that was probably above my level right now.

...Do I even have a level? That's concerning if I don't…

Part of me wanted to try to make conversation with the two standing weirdly all alone, however that was a small part. In reality, I don't think now is a… great time to see if I can befriend those two…

If you're wondering who I'm referring to…

...Hmm… no fourth wall breaks… strange.

Anyways, they happen to be Neptune and Nepgear.

As I start to turn around, I catch a glimpse of Neptune turning around. I don't know if she saw me or not, but I honestly don't know what side of that would be worse.

I decided that it was probably a good idea to actually do what I came here to do.

However… I stopped myself, remembering I'm not good with talking to people.

"I can't do this, I can't do this…" I muttered to myself, hastily making my way out of the Guild.

As I exited the building, I let out a sigh.

"Dammit… This isn't some damn job interview… What the hell am I freaking out over…?" I asked myself. "Well… it sorta is… and my livelihood sorta depends on some intake of currency…"

I sighed again. "...I need to take a walk for a second…"

* * *

"Okay… as much as I like the idea of being in this place, I need to get home." I said to myself. "However, I need to actually live long enough to do anything note worthy."

As I was monologuing, I didn't notice the sound of angry guards, I did however, notice the impact of someone running into me. I fell onto my back, feeling a weight on my chest.

"Ow! Dammit…" Said a female voice. I opened my eyes to find a grey-ish purple skinned girl with green hair in a black mouse hoodie outfit pushing off me.

"Yeah, that works…" I said, rolling over, pushing myself off the ground,

"She went this way!" Shouted what I assumed to be Guards.

"Ah crap! Listen, I need you to hide me!" Said the Girl.

"Wait what!?" I asked.

"Just do it!" She shouted, running behind a crate. I sighed, before turning to see 2 guards run up to me. They wore Planeptune garb, so no doubt about their allegiance.

"Excuse me, did you happen to see a girl with green hair run by?" Asked one of the Guards.

"Uh yeah…" I said, pointing away from me. "She went that way. She slammed into me, so I think she should be slowed down a bit."

"Thanks for your help!" Guard 1 said. It was at this moment that their eyes were closed. I raised an eyebrow, but I don't think they saw it.

As the Guards left my field of view, I let out a sigh I didn't know I was holding in.

"Okay, you're good… I think." I said, turning around to face the girl I had just hid.

"You worried me for a second, but thanks for the help." She said, standing up.

"So… what the hell was that about?" I asked.

"I don't think that's any of your business." She responded.

"Well, considering the fact I just saved your *ss, I think I'm entitled to know." I said, leaning back against the wall behind me.

"...I… may have tried breaking into the Basilicom." She said.

"Yeah, that would do it…" I said, before walking over to her, my hand extended in greeting. "I'm Bryce."

She looked at it for a second. "...Linda." She answered, but not taking my hand.

I looked at her for a second before retracting my hand. "So you did this for your own personal gain or…?"

"Why the sudden interest?" She asked. "I don't think I need to explain everything some random dude."

"...just humor me." I said, sighing.

"I'm the most *sskickingest soldier in the Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime!" She said, a smirk on her face.

"...So you're an underling then." I deadpanned, causing her to lose her composure.

"Don't talk down to me, dumb*ss!" Linda said, as I raised my hands in a defensive manner.

"I'm not trying to!" I responded. "...You said you were apart of a Syndicate?"

"Yeah… why?" She asked.

"...I'm… kinda out of a job and not exactly got a place to sleep…" I answered.

"...So you're asking if I can get you a job?" She asked.

"Basically, yeah." I answered.

"Under normal circumstances, I'd tell you to screw off, but since you saved my skin… I'll see what I can do." She said, extending her hand. "Welcome to ASIC."

"...This is going to bite me in the ass isn't it?" I asked.

"Probably." She said, as I took her hand and shook it.


	2. Day 2: New Kinections

_**Day 2: Welcome to ASIC, you dumb*ss…**_

So it's my second day in Gamindustri, and I'm already regretting some choices that were made during day 1.

One of those being joining ASIC… but not for the reasons you'd think.

"You're screwing with me, right?" I asked holding up my 'uniform'. "This is just some sick joke right?"

Linda was watching on in mild amusement as I looked down at what was basically a male version of her outfit. It was, however, way less revealing, as the hoodie actually closed, and I was given a black pair of pants. A pair of what I can only assume were shoes designed with free running in mind were included along with a pair of gloves that I figured were made with a similar function in mind.

"Hey, don't insult the dress code!" Said Linda with mock annoyance, but she seemed to be enjoying my own annoyance.

"Look, I understand where you're coming from… but seriously?" I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose as I grabbed the outfit. "Fine, whatever, I'll be right back…"

"Just hurry up. I'd rather not get any sh*t for something you caused." Said Linda, as I walked into a nearby changing room.

I dropped the outfit in a pile as I quickly changed out of my previous outfit. I looked down at myself, a bit happy that I no longer had a spare tire, but also a bit sad that the changes seemed to stop there. I wasn't any fitter than I was earlier, I just lost weight.

I sighed, before quickly getting changed into the new outfit. As I slipped the gloves and shoes on, I began rolling my neck in discomfort. I quickly grabbed my Bluetooth headphones and proceeded to put them around my neck. "Better…" I said, feeling a bit more relaxed with the addition of my headphones back in their usual resting place.

I grabbed my old clothes, picking them up in a ball, before walking out of the dressing room. Dropping my old clothes in a bag near me, I made sure to take anything of importance out of the pockets of the pants, specifically, my Phone, my Wallet, and my house keys, even though the keys were most likely pointless at this point.

"Alright then," I said, turning to Linda. "How do I look?"

Linda stopped for a second, before narrowing her gaze on the headphones that hung around my neck. "...It'll do, I guess." She said. "But why the headphones exactly?"

"It'll feel… less uneasy with them on." I responded, rolling my neck.

"Whatever," Linda said, turning around. I sighed, my eyes flickering around the room. "Now come on, the head of our Technology Division wants to see what you can do."

"...What I can do?" I asked, feeling a bit uneasy.

"Yeah, whatever that is. Your frame… _doesn't_ really inspire confidence." She said, to which I sent a slight glare her way. "They're setting up a simulation of sorts based off tech we stole from Leanbox's Research And Development team."

I sighed to myself. Great, time to suck major *ss… Not literally, but the saying stays true.

"Just take this for now, and wait for instructions. The sooner you're done that, the sooner I can stop babysitting you." Said Linda. I looked down at the USB in my hand before nodding.

As we walked into what seemed to me as an empty gymnasium rigged up like a mocap room, I started to look around. "...So… where exactly?" I began to ask, however, I didn't realize that Linda had already left the room and had closed the door behind her. "...Rude."

Suddenly, the sound of mechanical whirring was heard, as the lights in the room came up, and a voice spoke over a loudspeaker system. " _So you must be the new recruit. Welcome to the ASIC_." Said a flamboyant robotic voice. " _I'm Anonydeath, I'm in charge of the ASIC's technology division."_

"Nice to meet you." I said, looking around, the voice was being projected all around me, so I was getting a little on edge.

" _Now normally we normally have new members just go out and do random orders, I, however, had a better idea for you. That, and we also need to test out this new tech… Well, I think you get the idea." Said Anonydeath. "The simulation you're about to go through is a recreation of Leanbox's R &D division. Your target is to insert that USB into their main terminal. If this was real life, I'd be able to have a backdoor installed into their system. You'll be behind enemy lines with no weapons of your own. Let's see what you can do."_

Almost instantly as he said that what seemed like cameras slid out of the walls, and projected what I could only assume to be a recreation of the R&D Division of Leanbox. Or at least… the warehouse looking section of it.

"...Welp, here we go." I said, moving over to a nearby cardboard box. I found that it had small peepholes on all sides. I looked around, before pulling the box up and dropping it on top of me.

I positioned myself so the box was touching the floor. I sighed, looking out of the peephole that was available.

"So I says to the guy, as if!" Said a passing Guard. I froze, as I watched them walk past me. "And then I shot him. Kinda like this!" Said the Guard, aiming what looked like a strange variant of the Halo CE Assault Rifle at a similar cardboard box to the one I was hiding in, before firing at the box. The bullets tore through the box, and I was left with a sense of absolute dread.

* * *

 _ **POV CHANGE: 3RD PERSON**_

"Okay, I'll admit it, this is fun watching him like that." Said Linda, as she watched Bryce go through his 'Initiation'. She stood next to Anonydeath, as the robot went through his computer, fiddling with a bunch of different settings.

" _He still has a long way to go._ " Said Anonydeath. " _He isn't remarkably fit…_ "

Linda scoffed. "He probably won't even get CLOSE to his objective."

" _Hmm… he may actually._ " Said Anonydeath. " _He's being careful, a bit much more than necessary, but careful anyways. Also, how did you get past my security?_ "

"...Pipe to the face." Was Anonydeath's reply.

* * *

 _ **POV CHANGE: 1ST PERSON (Bryce)**_

I felt a migraine coming on, as I sat there, completely uncomfortable from the enclosed space of the box, watching on as two guards stood in one place, staring right in my general direction.

"Okay, the ability to fly... North." Said Security 1.

"Eh, I don't know." Said Security 2.

"What do you mean? That's a great 'terrible superpower'." Said Security 1, turning to Security 2.

"Yeah, but you can still fly." Security 2 responded.

"You can only fly North. It's so inconvenient." Said Security 1. "Once you land, you have to walk wherever you're going."

"Mmm, I guess so." Said Security 2.

"Okay, what about the ability to teleport ... one foot at a time." Said Security 1.

"Mmmmm, meh." Said Security 2.

"You're meh. This guard shift SUCKS!" Said Security 1.

"I know what you mean. Plus, we have CPU's who can fly NORMALLY, why is flying still considered a superpower?" Asked Security 2.

"Maybe because comics of 'CPU Bodyguards' are making literal assloads of cash?" Asked Security 1.

"Tell me about it… I'd just wish the hardcore nerds would stop asking who would win in a fight between them." Said Security 2. "...My money would be on that G1 guy.".

"Do I NEED to bring up the SD guy?" Asked Security 1.

"Yeah… now that you say it, that guy _IS_ OP…"

"This is my life now." I said to myself, bored out of my mind as I decided now was a good time to move since they were distracted pretty badly.

I silently got out of their field of vision, before sneaking past them, finding myself in front of a terminal of sorts.

"Okay… now to just insert this USB here and…" I pulled out the USB I was given beforehand, before stopping cold as I felt the clicking of weaponry arming behind me.

I slowly turned around, finding myself surrounded by security guards. I slowly raised my hands up, before stopping as the area around me started to glitch out and return back to normal.

" _That's disappointing. So the system crashed due to the fact that it's basically a dev kit for dev kits, we need you to go into the ACTUAL R &D Division in Leanbox and find a more… stable dev kit. Meet Underling outside, she'll take you to the area._" Said Anonydeath.

I sighed, before walking out of the room. Upon my exit, Linda was leaning against a nearby wall, waiting for who I presumed to be me.

"I can't believe I'm stuck babysitting you for this mission…" Said Linda, annoyance clearly in her voice.

"Yeah, that's nice and all, but can we just get this over with?" I asked, to which Linda pushed off the wall.

"Follow me." She said, turning around and walking further down the hallway.

"...Note to self, if you ever get to a higher rank than her, find a more degrading name for her that means the same thing as 'Underling'. Side note, find out what the higher ups are calling you." I said to myself, before running to catch up with Linda.

* * *

"So let me get this straight, I'm breaking into what is probably one of the most guarded places on the PLANET, and all you're giving me is a cardboard box..." I said, motioning to the cardboard box with peepholes, and 'this side up' warning signs littered across it, a red exclamation point on the front of the box, a reference I laughed at when I first saw it. "And this pill." I said, holding my hand out as a white and yellow pill rolled in the palm of my hand. "Now did I miss anything? Because I sure wish I did!"

" _Well if you must know..._ " Began Anonydeath. " _We're having you be disguised as the box to infiltrate first, so have fun with that. Also, if you think they'll take you for questioning… the pill will help you keep your mouth shut._ "

"...It's a cyanide tab, isn't it?" I deadpanned.

" _Yes._ " Was my response.

Letting a groan out, I shoved the pill in my pocket, before moving into the box, and waiting as I was moved into the facility.

* * *

" _Grunt_ _, are you inside?"_ Asked Anonydeath from the earpiece I was wearing.

"Uh… yeah… I'm in." I said, peering out of the box.

" _Your objective is the main terminal, you still have the USB from earlier?_ "

"I do." I responded.

" _The USB has an automatic hacker software built into it, I would explain further, but I don't need to._ " Said Anonydeath, as I got out of the box. " _Find the terminal, and the USB will open the terminal's files to you. Grab what's needed, then get out."_

"...Understood." I said, cutting the communication off. "...I am so screwed."

I grabbed the box I was just in, before dropping it over me, the hole on the bottom now allowing me to move around.

About halfway through, I found myself stuck in a familiar situation.

"Okay, the ability to fly... North." Said Guard 1.

"Eh, I don't know." Said Guard 2.

"What do you mean? That's a great 'terrible superpower'." Said Guard 1, turning to Guard 2.

"Yeah, but you can still fly." Guard 2 responded.

"You can only fly North. It's so inconvenient." Said Guard 1. "Once you land, you have to walk wherever you're going."

"Mmm, I guess so." Said Guard 2.

"Okay, what about the ability to teleport ... one foot at a time." Said Guard 1.

"Mmmmm, meh." Said Guard 2.

"You're meh. This guard shift SUCKS!" Said Guard 1.

"I know what you mean. Plus, we have CPU's who can fly NORMALLY, why is flying still considered a superpower?" Asked Guard 2.

"Maybe because comics of 'CPU Bodyguards' are making literal assloads of cash?" Asked Guard 1.

"Tell me about it… I'd just wish the hardcore nerds would stop asking who would win in a fight between them." Said Guard 2. "...My money would be on that G1 guy.".

"Do I NEED to bring up the SD guy?" Asked Guard 1.

"Yeah… now that you say it, that guy _IS_ OP…"

"I love it how real life mimics fiction sometimes…" I said to myself, sighing as I traveled past them, arriving at a nearby terminal.

Tossing the box off of me, I pulled out the USB, plugging it in and watching as the hacking software went to work.

Eventually I arrived at a list of different projects. They read as follows:

 _Project Aries_

 _Leanbox Elite Controller_

 _Blender partnership deal_

 _CE Prototypes_

 _Kinekt_

 _Exclusives_

"Found it…" I said to myself, transferring the Kinekt files to the USB.

However, something else caught my attention.

"CE prototypes?" I asked myself, opening up the file.

What I got was a location in the area I was in, and that was it.

I pulled out the USB, before shoving it in my pocket and going back into the box.

"...let's check out the CE prototypes…"

* * *

"How's the fit?"

"Feels fine."

I had quickly left the cardboard box outside, preferring to get a better look around outside the box.

What I had found was what I assumed to be NPC's in lab coats and a girl with red hair testing what looked like a glove of sorts.

"Alright, let's test it out… Cave, whenever you're ready." Said Scientist 1.

The girl who assumed to be Cave nodded, before clenching her hand.

All of a sudden, I felt a sense of dread fill me, as I stopped moving, my vision turned grayscaled, and I felt the air stop around me.

Suddenly, everything seemed to rubber band back to normal. And I fell to the ground, a sense of relief washed over me.

"Were you able to move?" Asked Scientist 1 to Cave.

"No." Said Cave.

"Then it's a good thing that the fail safe kicked in when it did." Said the scientist, as he put a hand to his throat, breathing hard. "...This isn't going well. We were able to separate cause and effect, but not be able to move between…"

"...I don't like the sound of these implications…" I said to myself, going back into the box and moving a bit to the side, finding what seemed to be an armory next door.

Moving into it, and getting back out of the box, I pulled out what seemed to be a weird version of the Halo CE magnum.

As I held it above me, I pressed a button on the side of the gun, the metal magazine sliding out and dropping onto my foot.

"F*ck!" I shouted, before slamming my hands over my mouth. I quickly hid inside the box, grabbing the dropped magazine on my way inside the box, before 2 guards ran in.

"...Must have been the wind." Guard 1 said as they walked away.

I sighed, sliding the magazine into the gun. I pulled the slide back, chambering a round, before sneaking my way back to the weird science thing.

"...It's empty." I said to myself, getting out of the box, as I walked over to the weird glove. It was just… laying there.

"...Welp, nothing ventured nothing gained." I said, slipping the glove on.

Upon closer inspection, the glove looked slightly like that device you wore in the Titanfall 2 mission where you could shift time periods… if you don't know what I'm referring to, search up Titanfall 2 time travel and go to images. There you go.

"I would recommend putting your hands up and taking the device off." Said a voice suddenly, as I turned around to see who I believed to be Cave. "Underling."

"...Or…" I began, looking at the device on my hand. "I could do this." I said, clenching my hand, as I felt cause and effect split, and I was left in a grayscale room. I took in a breath, which was new at the time before realizing that I could move.

"...how am I moving? How am I breathing? Why the hell is Leanbox researching cause and effect? Questions for later." I said, running past Cave and out of the room, before what I assumed to be the automatic timer kicked in, effect kicking in as I kept running.

"Now then… getting out of here." I said, before the sound of sirens going off caused me to groan in annoyance.

I skidded to a stop, aiming the gun in my hands at two guards. I closed my eyes as I fired two shots, both hitting them in the leg.

"Sorry about this!" I shouted, running past the crippled guards.

I suddenly found myself in front of a car of sorts. The prototype name for it was: M12 LRV PUMA.

"...Best shot right about now." I said climbing into the 'Puma' as I found the keys sitting next to me. "That was easy."

Taking the keys and turning the 'Puma' on, I looked down at where I assumed where gas and brake pedals would be. However...

"Why are there six pedals if there are only four directions!?" I asked myself, before shaking my head and slamming my foot on one of them, the car shooting forward… through a bunch of walls, each crash both learning from and improving on the crash before.

Finally, I had broken through the wall and was outside, driving like a maniac who didn't know what the hell he was doing.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Asked a voice as I looked up to see Linda in a helicopter above me, hand reached out to grab me.

"I don't know!" I shouted back, grabbing her hand as I jumped out of the 'Puma', the car in question crashing into a nearby wall as I was pulled aboard.

"At least I got the thing that was needed." I said, patting my pocket where the USB was.

"Whatever, let's head back to base." Said Linda, as I sat down, looking at the device on my hand.

"...What the hell were they doing with you?" I asked myself, before sighing. Today was enough for me right now.


	3. Day 13-44: A treaty, and then a break in

_**Day 13**_

It's been thirteen days, and in those thirteen days, I have done many boring things that shall not be mentioned. Some things I will bring up are more important and still… are not as exciting as they sound.

The first of these things being that I got an apartment in Planeptune. Did I pay for it by myself? Pff! No! I'm rooming with Linda, since she was sick of the barracks they had at home base and I agreed with that sentiment. Although, I'm not sure if it was totally worth it currently. Linda's alright… but she can be a giant bitch when she wants to be.

The other thing is that the Causality Gauntlet, the device I… 'Appropriated' from Leanbox's R&D division was now a lot more sleeker, all thanks to Anonydeath. I didn't really explain what I needed, just that I needed an arm gauntlet of sorts. Now, it looks like the left hand of Samus Aran's power suit, except in a black colour. Well the top of my hand is like that anyways, the palm is exposed, for some reason. I'm not really complaining.

I also started working out! I have now gotten to a point where what looks like the starting point of really tiny abs would form, but nothing to major.

And that leads to today, long story short, things happened. And now I was bored out of my mind as I flicked through the channels, my finger stopping as I got to a live broadcast of sorts.

" _Here ye, all gamindustri residents far and wide!"_

I rested my hand against my face, watching the tv with mild interest.

" _We take one giant leap toward a new era today."_ Said a female voice from the tv as Linda plopped down on the other side of the couch I was sitting on. _"It brings me great pleasure to be together with you all as we welcome this joyous day."_

It was at this moment that the cameras on site focused in on a woman in a dark purple dress. The goddess of Planeptune, Purple Heart.

I felt a slight smile form on my face at this, before realizing what side I was currently on and regaining a neutral face.

" _As you all know, this world has been torn by strife over the past few years."_ Said Purple Heart, as Linda took a sip of her drink in boredom, and most likely, annoyance.

The camera's shifted to another woman who was wearing a black robe… thing, over her body proceeded to take it off, revealing a black dress. I swear I hear Anonydeath fanboying a ways away from where I currently am.

" _Lastation, governed by the goddess Black Heart."_ Said Purple Heart, before the camera's shifted to another woman who looks like she stole Queen Elizabeth's dress and look. _"Lowee, governed by the goddess White Heart."_ The Camera's yet again shifted to another woman who looked like she was dressed to go to a wedding. I felt myself get a bit… angry with this one, though it was only minor, and for a reason I wasn't sure of yet. _"Leanbox, governed by the goddess Green Heart."_

The Camera's changed back to the woman talking. As she took a step forward, a hexagon of sorts lit up underneath her. _"And Planeptune, governed by myself, the goddess Purple Heart."_

Purple Heart began to rise into the air, the glowing hexagon seemingly the cause of it. _"Share Energy forms the basis of national power in this world."_ As Purple Heart said this, the other Goddesses started to rise into the air as well. _"The four nations competed over it, and sometimes we goddesses ourselves came to blows. But now that curtain will fall on that chapter of history."_ All four goddesses stopped moving up, staying on the same level of height as Purple Heart continued. _"The Treaty of friendship that shall be signed today will prohibit taking Share Energy by force. From this moment onward, the only way to acquire it will be by making one's country a better place, which will lead to worldwide development and progress."_ The Four goddesses started walking towards each other, more hexagons appearing below them as platforms.

All four goddesses joined hands, as they started speaking in unison. _"We hereby swear to overcome the past and create a world filled with hope."_ As this line of dialogue was spoken, fire works began exploding around them, as applause came all around. It was at this point that I picked up the remote and turned off the TV.

"...I have a bad feeling about this…" I said, sighing.

"Great, now they got this whole treaty going on. This'll make things harder for us." Said Linda.

"Let me guess…" I began.

* * *

" _-And as such, ASIC may end up liquidating."_ Said Anonydeath, as I sat lazily in a nearby office chair.

"So basically, since the Friendship Treaty was signed, ASIC has begun losing followers and the Goddesses are after us as if we were a WMD. Due to such, we have been losing funds, and will have to disband soon?" I summarized, leaning back in the chair. "Did I get that right?"

" _Essentially._ " Said Anonydeath.

"Called it~!" I said in a sing song voice, facing Linda. The person in question just groaned out in annoyance.

" _With any case._ " Said Anonydeath, catching back our attention. " _We won't be able to last long as it is._ "

"...So why not go out with a bang?" I asked, drawing Anonydeath's attention. "I know for a fact, YOU'LL still thrive off… Hacking or something, so… why not infiltrate one more place and set up another back door?"

" _...This sounds less ASIC and more of our own choice…_ " Said Anonydeath.

"Your point?" I asked. "I know for a fact you'll do your… stalky thing with Black Heart, so why not have me install a backdoor to make it easier for you to get in? I'm sure you could get in anyways, but this way I'm not just sitting around and waiting to find out I'm out a job. This way, I at least got the chance of getting _something_ before I head off. Like a souvenir of sorts."

" _Hmm… I don't see why not… Though we'll need to get a general layout of the place…_ " Anonydeath said, before we both turned to Linda.

"...The hell you looking at me for!?" She asked.

* * *

 _ **Day 44**_

So after about a month of waiting, Linda finally got back to us about the layout, the guard rotations, all that fun stuff for Lastation's R&D division.

However, during said month, ASIC ended up finally disbanding. I never really knew the higher ups personally, but hey, Linda said that we'd know if they needed help with things, I:E, Menial and troublesome things they can't be bothered to worry about. _Yay…!_

However, at this moment, I was with Anonydeath looking over map plans, as Linda had scouted out the R&D division during the past month, and was probably lazing back at the apartment.

"Alright, now we should be good to go." I said, a hand on my chin.

" _I have a remote controlled chopper ready, I'll be able to drop you off at the infiltration point here._ " Said Anonydeath. " _And then, you should be able to do what you do best._ "

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that. What IS the thing I do best?"

" _Hiding inside a box._ " Anonydeath said, causing me to deadpan. " _And explosive exits, but try not to do as such._ "

"I make no promises, but I'll try." I said, walking over to the chopper, a box that looked similar to the one I used at Leanbox's R&D division sitting in the chopper. A big red exclamation point on the side.

" _Good luck, oh and make sure you don't get caught. That isn't really a good idea._ " Said Anonydeath. " _My Darling Noire isn't going to do what Vert would probably do to you._ "

"...What WAS Vert probably going to do to me?" I asked.

" _Most likely force you to play BL games._ " Said Anonydeath.

"...Nope nope nope nope nope!" I quickly muttered, walking into the chopper, sitting down.

* * *

" _That's an interesting development._ " Said Anonydeath, as I looked out the window of the Chopper.

"...Is that Purple Heart…?" I asked, looking as the CPU and CPU Candidate of Planeptune flew over to the Lastation Basilicom. "...The hell is going on here?"

" _I'll let you know once I got a good sound check of it._ " Said Anonydeath, as the Chopper dropped me close enough to the Lastation R&D Division that I would be able to infiltrate it on my own.

"Sounds good." I said entering the building, before dropping my box disguise onto me. "...Let's do this…"

As I worked my way through the facility, expertly dodging guards (Pure luck, I swear) I slipped into a side section of the area.

" _So I found out the reason for the CPU's visit_." Said Anonydeath.

"Oh? Do tell?" I whispered.

" _Turns out she went to Noire to escape doing her duties._ " Said Anonydeath.

"Figures…" I said, before taking a step. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have taken said step.

Bright lights began to wheeze in and out, an alarm went off as the route to the main complex closed off. I was stuck, and they were looking for an intruder now… F*CK.

"... _What was that?_ " Asked Anonydeath.

"Uh… Gotta go!" I quickly said, shutting off the communication. "...Great… now where am I supposed to go, and what section of this place even is this dedicated to?" As I asked myself this, I didn't notice the sign near me, clearly stating where I was.

 _Hypersomniac Games: Development._

* * *

"Okay… Take two… action!" Shouted someone as I watched, from my box, a relatively fit woman (If she was built for gymnastics) and another woman, who looked more goon like, go through the process of creating animation from mocap.

However… Gamindustri is… different from my world. I:E, they make things that doesn't need to be made IRL for a game… so they can make animations of the character using it.

And would you look at what they were testing.

The fit woman in the mocap suit fired out two strands of what on closer inspection seemed to be webbing, as she performed what seemed to be an ingame takedown of sorts.

"...Did I just stumble across a team making a spiderman… Or girl upon closer inspection, game?" I asked myself, eyeing what I assumed were web shooters as the actor took them off and put them on a table.

"Okay, that's a wrap for now. The breach of security alarm went off a few minutes ago, so let's let security get a good search around." Said one of whom I could only assume was the animation director.

I sneakily moved inside the box over to the table with the web shooters… and silently grabbed them, moving back up against the wall.

"I am SO having a spectacular spiderman moment once I'm out of here…" I said to myself, before the sound of heavy footsteps broke my attention.

"L-lady Black heart!?" Asked the voice of the Animation Director, as I looked out to indeed see Noire there… with Neptune and a few security guards.

"...Crap…" I muttered.

"We're just here to look around, we'll be quick." Said Noire, as Neptune looked around the room before seemingly making eye contact with the box I was hiding in- did she just wink at me!?

"Abort abort abort…!" I muttered to myself, fumbling as I put the right web shooter onto my right arm, before starting to do the same with my left hand, but with some trouble since the Causality Gauntlet was on my hand already.

"...Come on…" I said to myself, finally getting both on my left hand. "...I'll need to work on this later. This is uncomfortable." I muttered.

"...Lady Black Heart." Said the Actor from before. "...I think the breach is in this room…"

"...F*ck…" I whispered to myself.

"The webshooters!" Said the director, looking at the now empty table.

Noire turned to the guards. "Search the place. Neptune… just, don't disturb them."

Neptune gave a salute, sticking her tongue out playfully, before leaning against a wall opposite of me.

One of the security guards walked over to my box, before slowly starting to lift it up.

"...Welp, screw stealth then." I muttered, my mind quickly flashing to how I remembered the web shooters in the comics worked before. "...Okay, so it's… two presses of the button quickly?"

As the box was raised up, I quickly aimed at the Guard's feet, before double tapping the buttons on my palms, two strands of webbing catching onto the Guard's feet, causing him to look down, before I pulled, tripping him up and causing his body to slam onto the floor. I quickly threw the box off me before aiming at what seemed like an opening in the ceiling and web zipped up there.

"...Okay… this seems… interesting…" I muttered, looking down to see the other Guards and Noire run over to the guy who I tripped up. I looked over at Neptune, to see she was looking right at me.

I looked from side to side, before giving a quick wave and going back into the ceiling.

As I crawled, I realized that I was basically in an air vent, so yeah… fun.

Did I mention I didn't know where I was going?

Suddenly, the ground under me kinda fell apart, and I crashed down, with part of the air vent in the normal area.

"Oh come on…" I said, crawling out, finding that I was in front of a computer. "Well, ain't that convenient?"

I plugged a USB into the computer, and waited as the backdoor was hacked in. Once It was hacked in, I felt a sense of relief, only for it to disappear immediately, once I turned around to see Noire and Neptune running full force at me.

"OH COME ON!" I shouted, sprinting away from them.

I quickly vaulted and weaved my way through the area in front of me, before finding an elevator to my left.

With quick thinking, I fired a web line and quickly turned the corner and pressed the call button for the elevator. The door quickly opened and I ran inside slamming the top floor button and then repeatedly pressing the close door button in a frenzy.

I gave a quick sigh, as the Door started to close, before suddenly feeling very… not relaxed, as Noire and Neptune saw me in the elevator. No, that wasn't the reason why. The reason was because I got shot!

...Yep!

I suddenly felt a pain in my leg, as I looked down to see a bullet hole in my leg.

Thinking quickly, which was surprising to me, I took my hoodie off and took my undershirt off as well. I quickly ripped up the undershirt and tied it tightly around my injured leg.

"That should stop it until I can get out of here…" I muttered, before dropping the leftover scraps of shirt on the floor. I grabbed my discarded hoodie, before throwing it back on, using the hood to cover my face.

As I exited the elevator, I realized an issue I had done.

I was on the roof.

"...Well then." I said, looking over the edge. "...the f*ck do I do now?"

Suddenly, another door behind me opened up, and a bunch of Guards and Noire walked out. Neptune lagging behind a bit. That was probably a lot of stairs.

"We have you surrounded. Just give up now." Said Noire, as I turned around, my head facing the ground.

"...Tallyho…" I muttered to myself.

Noire motioned for two guards to go and arrest me, but I quickly turned around and jumped off the building.

"Aaaaaah!" You see that. That was me. Now I know what you're thinking, how did I get into this situation… well- oh wait, you already know… well then. Where was I…?

I quickly aimed my right arm at one of the nearby buildings as I fired off a line of webbing, said line quickly sticking to the side of the building as I felt my body start moving like a pendulum.

"WOAH!" I shouted aloud, swinging forward before letting go as I felt gravity lose hold of me for a second, before grasping around me once again.

I quickly fell into a free fall as I shot another line, continuing my pendulum swinging.

"WHOHO!" I shouted out, before looking behind me to see a quickly approaching Black Heart and Purple Heart. "NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE!"

I once again went into freefall, firing another line as I made a sharp right turn, trying to outswing the two goddesses who were right on my tail.

"...Oh crap…" I muttered, before realizing that Black Heart was about to grab me.

And then, in a semi-brilliant moment, of meaningful thinking, I quickly clenched my left hand, cause and effect splitting again as I quickly realized that I was falling.

"WHY WON'T YOU WORK!?" I shouted, trying to fire the web shooters on my person, before I quickly… stopped at the ground.

It was weird, I hit the ground, but I didn't feel the impact of it… Huh.

I stood up, looking up at the frozen goddesses before deciding it wasn't worth getting caught and quickly ran the hell out of dodge, running into a nearby alley as Effect finally snapped back to Cause.

* * *

" _So, care to explain why a man swinging away from two goddesses was on the Lastation news a few minutes ago? And then why everything just stopped?_ " Asked Anonydeath.

"...I may have made another dramatic exit." I answered, leaning back. "So… yeah."

" _Well it doesn't really matter. I have my back exit, and nothing else bad really happened._ " Said Anonydeath.

"Yeah, that seems about right." I said, standing up. "I'm going to head home now. If you need me, let underling know."

As I walked out of the hideout, I sighed.

"Welp, that was a thing." I said to myself, before chuckling at my in joke.

The laughter didn't really last long, as I quickly quieted down as I sighed in regret.

"...G1… Tehg… Aca… AIYF… ZX… Remited… Nick… I… What the hell am I doing?" I asked myself, my eyes starting to water. "...I'll find a way back… then… this'll make one hell of a fanfic, wouldn't it?" I laughed a sorrowful laugh, before wiping the tears away. "...But… at least I'm not being held hostage yet."

* * *

" _This just in, apparently the security force at Lastation's R &D devision have found a clue as to who was behind the break in just today."_

"...God… Damnit." I said, my hand connecting to my face with a hard slap.


	4. Day 47-49: That went well, huh?

_**Day 47**_

"I cannot believe you actually bought one." Said Linda, as we walked back into our apartment.

I gave a quick smile as I placed down the big box on the nearby coffee table.

"Seriously! I thought you were just joking when you said you were getting that!" Continued Linda as I sighed, sitting down on a chair near her.

"Why the hell are you so mad anyways?" I asked her, opening the box as I pulled out a case.

"My 'Problem', is that you spent cash that we don't exactly HAVE right now, on a goddamn guitar!" Said Linda, pointing at the Guitar case I was now holding.

"Hey, at least I actually know how to play it!" I said in defense.

"Do you actually?" Linda asked, not buying it.

"Uh, yeah, I do." I said, feeling a bit insulted. "I learned it during the summer before my last year at high school."

"You went to high school?" Asked Linda, eye raised.

"...Well, I _MAY_ have dropped out before October…" I said. 'For reasons that were out of my control, mind you.' I thought, before continuing outloud. "But I did get lessons in the summer."

"That still doesn't change the fact that you spent money that we didn't have!" Shouted Linda.

"Hey, it's not MY fault no one wants to hire me right now!" I shouted.

"Actually, it probably is, sorta." Said Linda, grabbing a copy of my resume and slamming it down in front of me. "What kind of dumb*ss do you need to be, to ACTUALLY WRITE DOWN YOU WERE A MEMBER OF ASIC, _**ON YOUR GODDAMN RESUME!**_ "

"...Well, to be fair, it's always good to put all past experiences on a resume." I said, hands quickly being raised up, as Linda gave me a death glare. "Okay fine, I get it! What the hell do you want me to do?"

Before Linda could say anything, she stopped and opened her cell phone messages. While she was distracted, I moved over to the refrigerator, grabbing a can of soda from the fridge. The label: _Doc P._ on the side.

'It's actually absurd how much this sh*t is on the black market…' I thought to myself, opening the can and taking a quick sip. 'Like, holy crap. I only got this stuff because I thought it would be good leverage against MAGES. since, you know, this IS MAGES. I'm referring to.'

"So good news, you're off the hook for now." Said Linda, as I placed my can on the countertop.

"Oh?" I asked, taking another sip of my drink before walking over to Linda. "What's the occasion?"

"We're going to help Trick capture the CPU Candidates of Lowee." Said Linda.

"Trick… Trick… Trick… He's the Pedophile, right?" I asked, snapping my fingers as I faked thinking back on my… old boss. I'll be honest, Trick… well, Trick was literally THE MOST _UNCOMFORTABLE_ CFW to be around. Sure, Judge was a pain to deal with since, I dunno, rage swings much? But no… Trick was downright DISTURBING.

And of course, that IS to be expected, the dude's a god damned PEDOPHILE for god sakes… I think I don't need to explain much else there.

"Yeah. Him." Said Linda, as we shared a look of utter disgust, before she continued.

"However, he's not the one actually paying." Said Linda, at this, I raised an eyebrow. "Some weird lady is apparently asking us this."

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "So what, we going to Lowee?" I asked.

"Apparently, yes, we are." Said Linda. "So hurry up, and get your uniform."

"Seriously, I need to wear THAT crap again?" I asked, sighing in frustration. "Fine, I'll go put on the freaking thing."

* * *

 _ **Day 48**_

So we were now in Lowee, and as it currently stands, just sorta waiting to for a perfect opportunity.

"Any news?" I asked, on the opposite side of the room from Trick, as Linda nodded.

"Yep. Turns out the twerps are going over to the newly opened theme park." Said Linda.

"Wait… Wasn't it something like… Super… Retro Land?" I asked.

"That's the one." Said Linda as we turned to the CFW in the room.

"So, got any ideas?" I asked.

* * *

I sighed aloud as I, along with Linda, moved coins in a straight line to Trick.

"This is the dumbest plan ever…" I said, sighing.

"I think some of YOUR plans top this." Said Linda.

"No, that was due to unforeseen issues. THIS, this is just a stupid plan." I said. "Honestly, I'd be surprised if they fall for it."

'They will, but that's not the point…' I thought to myself.

I quickly moved back to where Trick was, as we waited. And waited. This continued before we heard the sounds of footsteps and voices.

"... -A rare item!" Said a young sounding voice.

"Here we go…" I said, readying myself for what was to come.

"That one too." Said a more reserved sounding voice, I assume this is Rom.

"Oh, and that one too!" I looked over at linda, seeing a smirk on her face, before looking over at Trick, to end up seeing him practically drool.

'Note to self: When the CPUs come after Trick, distance yourself as much as possible.' I thought to myself.

"They're all reptile coins!" Said Ram. "But, uh, I think I've had enough."

"Let's take some back for sis." Said Rom.

"Good luck with that." I muttered, loud enough for Linda to hear, which caused her to snicker.

"Why bother?" Asked Ram. "Not like _She_ bothered coming."

"Yeah, but…" Rom replied.

"Fine…" Said Ram. "Let's take a whole lot back for sis."

"Okay!" Responded Rom.

"Hook, line and sinker…" I said, backing up a bit.

"Lick…" Was all Trick said, before grabbing the two Candidates, muffling their screams with his hands.

I quickly heard the sound of footsteps, as the sound of the other candidates voices' entered.

"Rom? Ram?" Asked Nepgear, before turning to see Rom and Ram being held in Trick's grasp, along with Linda and I standing next to him.

"Ah-kekekekeke!" Trick let out a disturbing laugh, as Nepgear and Uni got out of their surprised stupors.

"Rom! Ram!" Nepgear said in concern, before Uni stepped up.

"What's the meaning of this!?" She asked, before her face was quickly covered by a glob of webbing, courtesy of myself.

"Do us a favour and shut up, would you?" I asked, before Trick launched his tongue out like a damn rocket, slamming it into the two candidates as they fell to the ground.

"Post-Pubescent hags need not apply!" Said Trick.

"Looks like it went off without a hitch, guys." Said Linda as she turned to me and Trick.

"Yeah, although…" I began, before webbing up Nepgear's mouth as well. "One for the road as well."

I then checked that I left them able to breath, before returning to the matter at hand.

Trick let out a laugh. "Our delicious banquet of fun has only just begun!"

As we turned to walk away, or in Trick's case, bounce, I turned back to Nepgear and Uni and gave them an apologetic smile, before continuing on.

'...I don't think webbing their faces gave any brownie points…' I thought to myself, before sighing as I looked on as Trick's tongue moved around in the general area of the two candidates in his grip.

'...Yeah… I am DEFINITELY betraying this d*ckhead…'

* * *

I sighed as I leaned against the wall nearest to the door with my headphones on. I was currently trying to block out everything in the room right now, as of course, standing in a room with Trick is about as fun as it sounds.

I was saved from my boredom as Linda walked back into the room.

"Trick!" Said Linda, as I took off my headphones. "I called them and delivered our ransom demands."

As Linda finished this line of words, she turned her attention to what I was blocking out all this time.

"Wait, what are you doing!?" Asked Linda.

"Healing them, of course!" Said Trick. "My saliva is a miraculous panacea that cures any ill!"

I was currently slamming my head into the nearest wall at this sentence.

"Th-that so?" Linda asked, as I just took a deep breath.

"I'll have you two feeling better lickity-split!" Said Trick.

"That's it!" I suddenly said, pushing off the wall. "I need to get some air."

I quickly made way away from… whatever the f*ck was going on in there, Linda following me as well, probably for the same reason.

As I got away from Trick, I stopped turning to Linda.

"Okay, I'm going to level with you." I said. "I am PROBABLY going to lead some CPUs to Trick."

Linda looked at me like I was insane. "Are you crazy!?" She responded in kind. "You DO know we're only getting paid via the ransom right?"

I put my hands up. "YES, I realize! However, you've seen him. I am LITERALLY not spending another goddamn second just standing by while he 'heals' children!" I said, a disturbed expression on my face. "There's a line I won't cross, and I'm afraid I've been pulled past that line."

"...Look, whatever. At least leave, and let me take care of it." Said Linda.

"I didn't think you cared that much." I said. 'So she DOES have a heart.'

"Oh no, I don't." Said Linda.

'There we go.' I thought.

"I just don't want you screwing up my paycheck." Said Linda.

"...Well, best of luck to you." I said, walking away from her.

As I moved out of view, I found an air vent of sorts and crawled inside it.

"Okay… now to get back to Trick…" I said quietly, wincing as it echoed a bit.

As I made my way over to the room Trick was holding Rom and Ram hostage at, I heard the sound of something slamming into the ceiling and being launched away.

'Linda's blasting off again!' I thought, chuckling to myself, before continuing on my journey.

As I reached the room, I found that…

"Why is this place freaking empty!?" I quietly questioned, before leaving the vent and slowly descended to the floor with the help of my left webshooter.

As my feet touched the floor, I quietly moved to the open hole in the wall.

"...I'm not going to ask." I muttered, looking out to see White Heart taking out Trick. "About time…"

I sighed, before looking back at White Heart to see her turning to Rom and Ram.

"At least things ended up okay…" I said, a slight smile on my face.

...I really shouldn't have spoken.

It turns out, White Heart has some… good hearing.

I learned this when she snapped her focus onto me after I said this.

"...Aw crap baskets…" I muttered before turning around to see Green Heart right in front of me. "Also not good for me!"

"Where exactly do you think you're going?" Asked Green Heart, as I felt the wind behind me pick up.

"...Anywhere but here." I quickly said, activating my causality gauntlet, as I sprinted away from Vert and Blanc, jumping out the hole as I continued running away from them.

As Effect snapped back in place, I quickly turned a corner, panting.

"That was too close…" I said.

"Where did that bastard go!?" Asked White Heart.

"Found him!" Shouted a voice next to me, as I turned to see Neptune standing there with a coy smirk on her face, winking at me.

"HOW THE HELL DO YOU KEEP DOING THAT!?" I exclaimed, before feeling a sense of dread as I quickly jumped to the side, avoiding the business end of a battle axe.

"Stop running!" Shouted White Heart.

"Yeah, f*ck that!" I shouted, webbing up her face as I web zipped into the air. "Gotta find a way out…"

I quickly swung around, before finding another unfinished attraction of sorts.

And just in time.

As I found the attraction, I felt myself start falling, as my webline had been cut. I looked up to see Black Heart over top of me.

"Oh come on!" I shouted, once again activating my causality gauntlet, my body stopping at the ground without feeling any normal fall damage as I ran inside the attraction.

As I entered, I quickly shut the door, Cause and Effect snapping back into place.

I looked down at my gauntlet, finding that there was a warning sign, basically giving me a cool down I had to worry about.

"Sh*t!" I muttered, looking out the window to see the four Goddesses looking around for me. "Why all four of 'em?" I questioned, before looking back at the attraction, finding… familiar looking go karts.

"...Oh… so this is…" I muttered, before gaining a smirk on my face. "Okay, this'll be fun."

* * *

 **(Play Deja Vu - Initial D)**

I quickly started up the go kart engine, as the kart burst to life. The sound reverberating throughout the area.

"Got to hurry…" I said, hopping into the Kart, not grabbing a helmet. "Seat Belts… check." I said, clicking the seat belt into place.

"I heard it from over here!" Shouted a voice that I recognized as Nepgear.

"Sh*t!" I quietly said, doing a quick check over the kart. There wasn't really anything out of place.

"The door's locked!" Shouted a voice, as I heard the sound of something heavy smashing into the door. "Second time's the charm!"

"It's go time!" I said, slamming my foot on the gas as the kart drove onto the under construction course.

The wind instantly blasted my face, as I drove onto the pavement of the track. I looked behind me to see Green Heart, Black Heart and Purple Heart look at me before giving chase.

"Why did I think this was a good idea…" I thought to myself, before swerving to the right as I avoided an attack from Black Heart.

"Pull your vehicle over!" She shouted, before getting a good look at me. "Hey wait! You're the guy who-"

I quickly fired a web shot at her face, before turning the wheel to the right, and then instantly turning it to the left as the kart started drifting around a tight corner.

"YEAH!" I exclaimed, as blue sparks started forming around my rear tires. "That doesn't look good…"

I looked to my left to see Green Heart charging me. I quickly turned the steering wheel to its neutral position as the kart quickly gained a burst of speed as I dodged the CPU.

"What the hell was that!?" I asked myself, before coming up to what seemed like a ramp upwards. There was one problem with it, it wasn't completed.

I looked to the left, finding a large pole next to it.

"Please don't screw this up…" I said, shooting a web line to the pole, before webbing the line to the side of the kart.

As the Kart drove over the incomplete ramp, the speed and momentum carried into the web line, as I felt my body quickly being shoved to the right as the kart quickly gained air.

"Oh crap oh crap oh crap!" I exclaimed, cutting the line as I went spiralling into the air.

As the kart started slowing down, I saw that I was on a direct collision course with, guess who, Ram and Rom, because why not? Let the universe crap on me right now.

I quickly grabbed both of them with some webbing and through them forward, causing me to just sail on past them.

"Sorry!" I shouted to the candidates, as the Kart hit the ground and I picked up speed.

As I sped up, I saw what I assumed to be Purple Heart in front of me by a few feet. Quickly thinking, I entered another drift, quickly turning to the right as blue sparks started forming.

"Deja vu!" I quietly shouted, as I drifted that corner. As I exited the drift, I looked up to see the gate to the park in front of me. "Got it!"

As I approached, I heard a loud bang and then a weird green beam quickly smashed into the top of the exit, the area starting to crumble.

"Son of a-!" I quickly gained speed as I approached the exit. As I reached the exit, I barely cleared the gate, as the gate crumbled behind me.

"Yeah, I'm not stopping right now." I said, keeping my pace up as I drove into Lowee.

 **(Stop Music)**

* * *

As I reached Lowee, I quickly disembarked from the Kart, running over to whatever transportation I could get to Planeptune.

As I boarded what I assumed to be a train of sorts, I quickly slumped against the seat, looking out the window to see Purple Heart, Black Heart and Green Heart following the train a bit away, as to not look suspicious.

"...Might as well sleep for now… We don't arrive till morning…" I muttered, closing my eyes.

 _ **Day 49**_

Only to open them to find that it was now day and we were slowing down.

I looked out the window to see some familiar landmarks, and some guild members… and guards…

Ah crap…

I quickly stood up, making my way to the back of the train thing as I attempted to get as far away as possible from the opening.

As the Train thing stopped, and the entrance opened, a lone figure stepped inside.

"Sorry about any issues this may cause with scheduling, but the guild has been told there's a danger to the nation aboard this train." Said a female voice I almost instantly recognized as the one and only IF.

"They flatter me, and also make things SO much worse for me." I muttered, slowly opening an emergency exit.

I wasn't very quite.

"Hey you!" IF shouted at me, as I quickly opened the exit and sprinted out of there.

Only to find a group of guards waiting for me.

"Now is NOT the time for this!" I shouted, looking at my gauntlet to see it was ready to be used. "Sorry!"

I activated the gauntlet, as I pushed past the frozen guards. I quickly ran into the main streets as cause and effect snapped back together.

"Okay, plan b!" I shouted, firing off a web line and launching myself into the air, before going into a swing as I looked behind me, seeing the Guards and IF, who was on her motorcycle, attempt to make chase.

I looked forward just in time to see something purple before something crash into me and send me, along with the thing I crashed into, hurtling towards the ground.

As I approached the asphalt, I felt myself slow down before being dropped to the ground. It wasn't a fatal drop, but it was going to make me sore later.

As I tried to regain my senses, I looked up to see Purple Heart pointing her sword at me, a bunch of Basilicom guards around us.

"I'd recommend you stop resisting." Said Purple Heart.

"...Well… sh*t…" I said, raising my hands into the air as I was quickly taken into custody.

...God... dammit.


	5. Day 50-52: Screaming Revelations

_**Day 50**_

"Come on Linda pick up…" I muttered, looking to my right to see some Guards at the door.

I stood there uncomfortably as the phone in my hand rung. Finally, after what seemed like forever, someone picked up.

"Who are you and how did you get this number?" Asked the familiar voice of my roommate.

"Linda, it's Bryce." I said quickly. "Listen, you can't go back to the apartment for a bit."

"And why the hell not!?" Came her reply.

"Because… I'm currently in Planeptune custody." I said, looking over at the Guards. "The… the authorities should be searching the apartment right now, so if you could just… not go there and lay low till this all blows over, that'd be nice."

I sighed. "Then again, I don't really care. It's just a warning."

... the line just ended from her end.

I sighed, hanging up the phone up. One of the guards grabbed my arm and forcefully pulled me along.

I looked to my left and right, seeing both guards moving me along. I closed my eyes and sighed, before being forcefully stopped.

"We're here." Said the Guard on my left. I opened my eyes to see a small jail cell of sorts.

I was quickly led inside and dumped there. When I turned around the cell door was already locked.

"...That just figures…" I muttered, sighing as I rubbed the back of my neck. "And no music either… this is going to be GREAT!"

I looked at what this cell's version of a bed was, to find that it was a cheap pillow and a metal board of sorts.

"Ooh… luxurious…" I said sarcastically. "...I already miss my apartment. Hell, I miss ASIC's barracks, and those were crap..."

I quickly made myself comfortable, which wasn't an easy thing to do, as I stared at the ceiling.

"How the hell are you supposed to get out of this one…" I asked myself, closing my eyes. "I really screwed the pooch on this one huh?"

I sighed as I squirmed in place. There wasn't much I could do but wait until I fell asleep.

* * *

 _ **Day 51**_

I was awoken by the aching that was being felt through my entire body. I sighed, standing up to see I was still in my cell.

"This is just perfect…" I muttered, sighing.

I grabbed my pillow of the metal slab they called my bed and layed down on the ground.

"I don't know how they did it, but the GROUND is more comfortable than my 'bed'. What a joke…" I said aloud, closing my eyes.

Only to be woken up by someone hitting something against the metal bars of my cell.

"What?" I asked, rolling over to see IF standing on the other side of the cell, with two guards beside her.

"You're being taken for questioning." Said IF.

"Oh, of course I am…" I sighed, standing up as I brushed my shoulder clear of some dandruff. The purple prison uniform I was given was alright at best. I still missed my black overcoat, but that's beside the point.

"If you don't mind my asking, why were you asleep on the floor." Asked IF.

"If was more comfortable sleeping on the floor than my bed. And that, gives cause for concern." I said, holding my hands out for the guards to handcuff me. "Let's get this over with."

Let it be said, I wasn't calm right now. No, I was just tired.

Which made it all the more nerve-wracking when I was sat down in the interrogation room.

The guards quickly made themselves scarce, as I looked at the table to find… a plate of pudding.

"...I should question this, but I won't." I said, sighing as I took a cup. "Never tried this before… I don't really want some… but I'd prefer having a better… impression."

...eh, I've had better. It's not terrible at least.

As I placed the now half full pudding cup down, IF escorted a woman in black clothing into the room.

Upon closer inspection, I found that it was Noire. I looked off to the side as she sat down.

"Please state your name for the record." Said Noire.

"...First name Mario, last name Mario. Mario Mario." I deadpanned.

"I don't think I need to tell you that It'd be best for the both of us, if you'd be serious. Your name isn't Mario Mario."

I had to suppress the urge to laugh. "You're right, it's not. Last name Sh*t Sherlock. First name No."

Noire just glared at me.

"Alright fine." I sighed. "My name is Bryce Arden Bridged."

"Okay. Bryce, I'm going to ask you questions about your infiltration of Lastation's R&D Division. And you, are going to answer them."

"I understand the concept of being on the receiving end of an interrogation, Noire." I said, glaring a bit. "...Before we start, indulge me this, why is it that the CPU of Lastation is interrogating a NPC that's under arrest in Planeptune."

"First, don't try and pull the NPC card." Said Noire. "You don't show the basic NPC tells that identify you as such. At best I'd consider you a maker, but… we have reason to believe you're not even that."

"You didn't answer my question." I said.

"And I don't have to." Said Noire."But… the reason is because you're considered a threat to the entire world. So you'll have the other goddesses joining in on the interrogation."

"Fun." I said, leaning back in my chair. "Because why not? Neptune probably didn't put up much of a fight there." I muttered, shaking my arms, the handcuffs still on.

"Alright then… First Question." Said Noire. "How exactly did you infiltrate one of the most guarded places in Lastation, and still get away."

"I sneaked around in a cardboard box with a big red exclamation point on it's side." I said, a straight face on. Hey, it was the truth!

"...I'm going to ask you that again." Said Noire.

"And I'm going to give you the same answer. The cardboard box should STILL be in your R&D Division. Don't believe me, go have some guards look for it and get back to you on it." I said, leaning back in my chair.

"...Second Question… You stole two prototype wrist mounted devices that were being used to mocap animations for an untitled game by Hypersomniac Games." Said Noire.

"Is this question going anywhere?" I asked, leaning forward. "What is this question anyways, my motive? I was stuck there, and I saw something that reminded me of a video game I had saw before and I was like, why the f*ck not?"

"Besides, what's with the secrecy on the naming scale. From any outlook they'd look like web shooters once used, so I don't understand the secrecy." I leaned back into my chair. "With that said, it DID help my escape, so I guess it worked pretty well."

Noire seemed to be looking pretty pissed off. And due to the fact that I don't know why the hell I'm on the offensive so much, when she sent me a VERY direct Glare, I quickly tried to sink into the chair I was sitting in.

"...We found what remained of some cloth you used to bandage your wound, if I could even call it that." Said Noire. "You understand this connects you with ASIC, correct?"

"By the time we were halfway through planning, ASIC had already disbanded." I said. "It was really all I had on hand for that kind of thing."

"Alright… but if ASIC was disbanded, why did you infiltrate anyways?" Asked Noire.

"Honest truth, I felt like it." I said. "Because to me, once ASIC was gone, I'd be out of a job, and since we were already halfway through planning… well, maybe I thought I'd sell some sh*t I stole."

"But all you stole were the web shooters." Said Noire.

"Ya-huh;" I said, nodding. "However, at that point… well, I was trapped between a rock and a hard place. And Neptune."

"Neptune?" Noire asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure she looked at me as I was fleeing through the air vent." I said.

Noire's eye seemed to twitch for a second before she regained her composure.

"...That is all the questions I have at this moment. Someone else will be interrogating you next." Said Noire, standing up as she walked out of the room.

I sighed, looking down at the handcuffs around my wrists.

"Hey, could you do me a favour and AT LEAST, get these things off me?" I shouted at Noire's retreating form. "I can't gesture right with these things restricting movements!"

The door closed and I wasn't given a response.

"...Alright, ignore me then…" I muttered dejectedly, tapping my finger on the table to the beat of a song that I was remembering. "And here comes the fidgeting…"

I sighed, squirming in my chair as I waited.

After what seemed like forever, but was probably only like… 30 seconds, the door opened. I quickly looked to see IF enter the room.

She grabbed my wrists, before tapping a card of sorts on the handcuffs, before they released their grasp and fell to the ground.

"...That was easy…" I muttered, rubbing my wrists as IF left the room, before Vert entered after her.

Upon this sight, I instantly felt myself tense. I felt myself give Vert a passive glare, as she sat down in front of me.

She looked at me with a neutral expression, before she pulled out my causality gauntlet and put it on the table.

"...The internals are elsewhere." Said Vert, as I looked down at the Gauntlet. Something tells me that isn't the case. "Now, I will be asking you questions on your infiltration of Leanbox's R&D Division."

"...I snuck in with an identical box as the one I used to sneak into Lastation's R&D Division. I was there to extract files for that weird camera hologram thingy that I BELIEVE is still in it's prototype stages. I stole, this-" I pointed to the Gauntlet on the table. "because of souvenirs sake."

"You stole tech.. As a souvenir?" Vert asked.

"Yes, and no other reason." I said seriously, my arms resting on the table. "...Allow me to ask you something, Vert… What does this do exactly?"

Vert didn't answer me.

"...It splits apart Cause and Effect, leaving reality in a state of nonexistence." I said, my glare hardening. "Have you ever felt what that feels like? To not be able to breath, to be suffocating on the very air that sustains you? To feel yourself be unable to move a muscle due that state? It's a living depiction of hell."

"...Where are you going with this?" Asked Vert.

I picked up the Gauntlet, to which Vert glared at me and pointed her spear at me.

"I'm sorry, but weren't you the one who said it was empty?" I asked, putting it on. "But… as I was saying. To both you and to your friends… Have you?"

The door opened up to have IF, and 3 guards rush into the room. I quickly activated the Gauntlet, Cause and Effect splitting as I quickly ran out of the room, and ran into the viewing room, the room that was on the OTHER side of the one sided mirror.

As I entered, I quickly grabbed a tea cup that Noire seemed to have just prepared and hadn't drank from yet.

I quickly picked it up and walked back into the interrogation room, sitting down on my chair as I moved the cup to my mouth as Effect snapped back into place.

As I took a sip from the teacup, I slowly set it down as I looked at Vert, who looked like she was trying to catch her breath.

"To answer both your questions, one, Planeptune wasn't going to be giving you something that I stole from you, just because it was once yours. Reason, well, evidence, and I grabbed the tea cup from Noire, I believe she just made it, if the not removed tea bag was any indication." I said, leaning back in the chair as I pulled the gauntlet off my hand and handed it to IF.

IF and the guards left the room after I said that. Vert took one more breath before looking at me.

"...I took that device because I HAD to." I said, my glare staying strong. "...My motive isn't something I will be tell you about."

Vert just stood up and walked out of the room.

As she left and the door closed, I let out a breath I wasn't sure I was holding.

"Hoy sh*t…" I said, sprawling out on the chair as I took a deep breath. "Okay then… that just happened… I am just digging myself a hole, huh?"

A few minutes later, IF re-entered the room, holding a case of what seemed to be evidence.

"This is your laptop, your headphones and your phone. Your laptop was taken from your apartment." Said IF, taking out the Laptop. "You, are going to log into your laptop."

"...And why the hell should I do that. Can't you guys just do some kind of… hard drive scan?" I asked.

"We tried that." Said IF. "Turns out, your laptop is… not exactly open to having data extracted. It has an entirely different style of data storage we aren't used to.

"...That's my school laptop. It has a kink where it returns to the factory issue once it shuts down." I said. "There really isn't anything worth it on there."

IF just pushed the laptop towards me.

"Log. In." She said.

I sighed, before typing administrator into the account name and pressing enter.

"No password?" Asked IF.

"It's a school computer, they don't change Admin settings… Only way to freaking log into it without being on school grounds..." I said, as the computer opened up to there being the normal clear space. "See, nothing."

IF sighed, before reaching for the computer lid.

However, a guard seemed to take concern with this.

"Miss!" Said a guard as they entered the room, holding… my guitar?

'Oh no…' I gulped. 'So not good for me.'

"Why… did you bring a guitar?" Asked IF.

"We found a data storage device inside the guitar." Said the guard, pulling out a white USB drive.

'Also, not good for me!'

IF grabbed the USB, before looking to the side of my Laptop finding the USB 3.0 slot.

As IF plugged the USB into the device, she looked on the text onscreen.

"...What language is this?" Asked IF, as she looked at me.

"...Um… what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

IF just gestured to the language of my laptop, which to me, was still English.

"English?" I said, shrugging.

IF looked at me, before pulling out a sheet of paper and writing down something, before handing it to me.

"What does that say?" Asked IF.

...What the hell is this? It looks like Japanese kanji, but… well, I don't know HOW to describe this!

"...I… have NO idea." I said, sliding the paper back to her.

"It says Planeptune." said IF.

...Strike one. They're probably even more suspicious of me now… That isn't good.

If clicked on the folder for the USB, opening it up to find a single folder.

 _Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 3_

...ah crap baskets…

IF opened the folder and looked at the icon for the application, a picture of Neptune.

"...What is this?" Asked IF.

I just remained silent, a single bead of sweat pouring down my face.

IF looked at me before standing up, taking the computer with her as she walked out.

As the door closed behind her, I just looked down at the table in front of me.

Here were some ideas of the thoughts going through my mind at the time.

'Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god…! F*ck F*ck F*ck F*ck F*CK! KHAAAAAAAAAN!'

You know, rational things.

At least, rational things to be running through MY mind right now.

I ran my hands through my hair as I entered the pose of Shinji from Evangelion, you know what pose I'm referring to. Except less hands together on forehead and more back of head in fear.

I snapped back into place as the door opened, only to find…

"...Neptune?" I asked, as the girl in question skipped over to the seat on the opposite side of the table.

"Heyo! So I just thought I'd put my skills to the test here." Said Neptune.

I just sorta looked at her funny.

"...Why the hell are you interrogating me?" I asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Asked Neptune, a sarcastically hurt look on her face.

"I mean more why you and not more… CPU… you." I said, calming down a bit.

"Oh you know, you seemed a bit stressed so I thought I'd lighten the mood a bit." Said Neptune.

"The others weren't going to let you interrogate me were they?" I asked, deadpanning.

"Nope! But… I think they've caught on about now." Said Neptune as she turned to the one way mirror and waved. You could see me looking at her with a confused face in the mirror.

"So, what's with the application with my face on it huh?" Asked Neptune, putting her nepu face on, which, might I say, is the weirdest thing to see happen IRL. "Some weird 18+ stuff about me?"

"What!? NO! God no!" I said, my face heating up.

Neptune just laughed at my embarrassment. "Wow, you are so easy to mess with." She said

"I've been told." I muttered.

"The application DOES look familiar thought…" Said Neptune, before she shrugged. "It won't matter, nothing the main character can't solve!"

"In that game yeah…" I muttered, before slamming my hand over my mouth.

Neptune turned to me with a look of intrigue on her face. "...'That game'...?" She asked, gaining a thinking look on her face. "...Wait a minute…!"

She quickly jumped onto the table and leaned towards me, her face getting dangerously close to mine.

As Neptune seemed to find what she was looking for in my... I'd like to say surprised face, she jumped off the table, and onto her chair, with a face of… I want to say accomplishment? It was a happy emote, but not one that I could properly describe.

"...I know who, or better yet what you are!" Said Neptune, as I looked up at the girl standing on the chair. "You're a player!"

...I'm sorry, did I miss strike two? Because I think I'm already struck out.

I just sat there un-moving as Neptune looked me over mover, moving in a bit close for comfort.

"Hmm…" Neptune seemed to look at me like I was under a magnifying glass, as her face got… uncomfortably close to mine.

"Uh…." I leaned back as she leaned in, it got to the point where I realized too late that I was going to end up falling.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, as my back landed on the ground. "Ow…"

"I knew it!" Neptune said, jumping into the air in victory. "Victory!" That's what I just said.

I rolled onto my stomach before pushing myself off the ground. I turned to see Neptune still doing a victory dance of sort.

I then realized I was like… two feet taller than her. Being 6'1" helps… I guess.

Once Neptune finished her victory, she turned back to me.

"Okay, we're done here." She said, smiling as she walked out of the room.

As the door behind her closed, I was left in utter confusion.

"The f*ck just happened?"

* * *

 _ **Day 52**_

So, it turns out that the interrogation was done after that. And now… I'm being held in my own little cell waiting for my sentence of… 7 years in solitary confinement.

Well, it wasn't REALLY solitary. It just so happened that I was the ONLY ONE in this goddamn jailing complex. Plus, due to the fact of where I was, I was also stuck in the basilicom.

"...This is just great…" I muttered, looking to the floor. "...This is what I get huh… for… taking the thing that caused my being here… for… No… I'm in the wrong… But… I just… GAH!"

I stood up and just paced around the cell I was in, freaking out a bit.

Eventually, It just devolved to me huddling in the corner tapping the beat of the 60's spider man theme song. Don't ask, It was pretty rough.

I was brought out of my stupor as I looked to see Vert on the other side of the bars looking at me.

"...What do you want?" I asked, the question sounding a bit shaky.

"...You said 'the thing that cause my being here'." She said.

I looked away from her, my hands curling up into fists.

"...Why did you steal the causality device?" Asked Vert.

"...I'm going to rot in here…" I said. "For seven years… It's going to be just as painful as when I first experienced it… only… not as painful physically."

Vert remained quiet at this, as I turned around to looked Vert dead in the eyes as I glared at her.

"I believe you were watching Neptune's 'Interrogation' of me." I said, to which she nodded.

I snorted, giving a pathetic chuckle. "...She's telling the truth. About me being a… 'player'... Hell, would it not make sense with what was said earlier, I was more in common with a maker, yet not really?"

I felt my eyes start to water.

"...It was September, about… a month and a half ago… I was just leaving my high school, only… well, only for everything to turn grey and for me to stop breathing." I said, looking at Vert.

"It felt like an eternity, stuck in that cycle of… hell." I said, my legs giving out under me, as I landed on my knees. "...Then it all… shattered, and there I was, in the goddamn Virtua forest, realizing that I was going to be Dogoo food in a matter of minutes…"

A single tear started to fall down my face.

"I was scared, alone, and with no money of any kind. I was a 16 year old kid, who at the time was lost and confused… So I clung to the first thing I could… Well, I tried for that to be Neptune and Nepgear, but… I suck with socializing… so I ran… and bumped into Underling… and that was my entrance into ASIC."

The tears in my eyes were now falling full force.

"So imagine that, when I'm doing my first DAMN mission, I experience the EXACT feeling as before. I… panicked. I stole the device in attempt to stop whatever research you were doing and run like hell out… You saw my 'Grand Escape'. I'm pretty sure everyone did…"

I stood up, as I looked at Vert with my eyes puffy from my crying.

"You. You are the reason I am in this dimension rotting in this goddess forsaken prison cell, instead of being locked in my room avoiding my 14 year old brother's attempts of making conversation, which I would GLADLY go back so I could open that damn door every GODDAMN time since I won't be able to now… So let me ask you Vert. Do you think I want to see you right now? If that device didn't have a timer on it… well…" I let out a sad laugh. "I'd probably keep it active until you choke to death on your own air… Now… please… leave me… I just… Go."

I turned around and waited as I heard her walk away. As soon as I heard her leave, I broke down. I fell onto my hands and knees and just… cried. I cried in the most childlike manner possible, as I huddled myself into the fetal position, just… hoping I'd wake up from this nightmare.

I don't think I ever will at this rate.


	6. Day 55: House Arrest

_**Day 55**_

I haven't moved, I haven't eaten, and I haven't been able to do anything else.

It was pathetic, but when your life goes from sitting in your room being lazy and taking everything for granted and then going to… well, my situation now… Yeah, I think I was in the right here.

It was how I was handling the situation that was the problem, not how the situation HAPPENED in the first place.

I heard a knock on the cell bars as I made an auditory grunt of acknowledgement.

"You should eat Bryce. This meal comes from a friend." Said a random guard as I opened my eyes.

I rolled over as I saw the guard leave.

"...Dishonored references… okay then…" I muttered, pushing myself off the floor, and then falling back onto the floor. After my fourth attempt, I walked over to the tray as I pulled the bread off the plate, only to find it had a cut on it's side.

As I pulled apart the bread, I found… a guard key card.

I quickly pulled it out and found a note taped to the back.

 _Bryce, the guard should have left a suitcase near your cell. I'd do more but I'm a bit… busy. Researching Lastation._

 _See you on the other side_

 _-Anonydeath._

I sighed, ripping up the note as I stood up, looked at the key card in my hand.

"Okay, let's weigh my options… first, I could be caught and tend to more jail time… or, I could go home free and be done with it all…" I sighed. "...Or I stay here…"

As I thought about this, the sound of footsteps caught my attention, causing me to look up to see IF on the other side of the bars.

"...Uh…" I was at a loss for words, slowly moving the key card behind my back.

"If you would give me the card." Said IF, holding her hand out.

I sighed, handing her the card. As she took it, she used it to unlock the cell door.

"...Um… what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Histoire wants to see you." Said IF, motioning me out of the cell.

As I walked out, I realized something.

"...No handcuffs?" I asked, only for me to not get an answer. "...Okay then, good chat."

I was quickly led to an elevator as I entered to see find a girl with pink hair and-

"Jesus christ!" I exclaimed, stumbling backwards at the sight of the GIANT NEEDLE next to her.

"Come on, get in." Said IF, who I swear had a smirk on her face.

I walked into the elevator, standing next to the person I had only now remembered was Compa.

Yes I realized I should have known earlier, but I'm currently running off of no food for three days straight. Hell, the last thing I ate was the god damn pudding from the interrogation.

"Hmm…" Compa looked me over as a doctor would a patient, as I looked over at IF.

"I'm glad my discomfort amuses you." I said sarcastically, before being pinched in the arm. "Ow!"

"When was the last time you've consumed any solids or liquids?" Asked Compa.

"...Okay then, full on nurse mode…" I quickly muttered. "How many days was I in there? I lost track in that cell."

"Around four." Said IF.

"Yeah that." I answered.

Compa nodded, before looking at IF.

"Iffy, he'll need something to eat before we do anything else." Said Compa.

"Two things, one, Iffy?" I said, a slight smile on my face as I tried to hold in my laughter. Yes I knew this, but after three days of sadness and emoness, this was like a breath of fresh air. Jesus Christ, when did my life gain the angst genre? "Secondly, can someone PLEASE tell me what's going on?"

The ding of the elevator grabbed my attention, before IF answered me.

"You're meeting with Planeptune's oracle, Histoire. She wants to talk to you about your… 'player'-ness." Said IF, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the elevator.

Which, might I say, is a weird sight to see a 6'1" guy being pulled by a 4'11" girl. It just… doesn't feel right. Like a Canadian in a group of Americans. It looks fine from a distance, but once you take a better look it just makes things seem… weird.

Where was I? Oh yeah. So as I was brought into the top floor of the Basilicom, I realized that the area I was in was probably the 'penthouse' that Neptune and Nepgear share.

I say probably, because all we ever see in-game is there room, and while we do see a bit of the actual 'penthouse' in the anime, It's not enough to remember it all off the top of my head.

Anyways, as we walked into the room, the sounds of furious gaming could be heard nearby. This prompted me to turn to see a form laying down on their stomach furiously button mashing their controller on the game in front of them.

Said person also stopped and paused their game as they stood up to face us. And it was now that I realized that I REALLY need food in my stomach because the fact I couldn't tell that was Neptune from where I'm standing is VERY alarming.

"Hey Iffy! Compa!" Said Neptune, walking over to us. "I see you brought B-ryce along with you."

I felt my eye twitch at the reminder of how some kids from school used to call me. Annoyed the crap out of me, and to this day, it still does.

"Don't, ever, call, me, that… again.." I said, exhaustion leaking from my voice.

"What's with him?" Neptune asked Compa.

"He just hasn't eaten or drank anything in four days, Nep-Nep." Compa said cheerfully.

"Nepu!? What's with that!?" Neptune suddenly got up in my face.

"Uh… Well… uh…." I tried to backpedal, but that just ended with me tripping and landing on my back. "...Ow…"

"...You going to get up?" Asked IF.

"No… my body doesn't feel like it." I said, trying to sit up, but like how it used to be doing situps, I got a 16th of the way, and then flopped back down onto my back. "Yeah… I think I'd like some food now please…"

Even after being helped into a chair by IF and Neptune, I was still… well, floppy.

"Here you go." Said Compa, as I looked at the plate to find… eggs and toast, a side glass of orange juice on the side.

I quickly digged into the food, I didn't gobble it all down, but I did eat rather quickly. And that glass of Orange Juice? I had like… half of it. Too much pulp for me. Not my kind of thing.

I'm not complaining, It's just how I grew up drinking it.

"Thanks…" I said, pushing my plate a bit forward.

Compa nodded, as she took my plate and glass over to the nearby sink.

I sorta just layed on the table. Now that I've eaten, I'd like to say that I was… well, very tired. So much so that I actually started to pass out.

The last thing I heard was Neptune shouts of 'Stay away from the light!'

* * *

I cracked open my eyes to find I was moved to the couch in my sleeping state.

"..." I stayed silent as I didn't feel like moving, sleeping does that to you. However, someone else had better plans.

"Ooh, you're up!" Said the familiar voice of neptune, as I felt someone grab hold of my shirt, and pull me off the couch.

...Which resulted in me faceplanting onto the floor.

"...Ow…"

As I stood up, I noticed that a tiny girl on a book was floating in front of me.

"...I'm not going to question that." I muttered.

"Hello, I am Histoire. Planeptune's Oracle." Said Histoire.

"Hello Histoire. I'm Bryce, resident dumbass." I muttered the last part to myself. I do think Neptune heard it though.

"If you would follow me please." Said Histoire, as I nodded, following behind her. "For this kind of testing, we need to be somewhere specific."

"To learn new things, we need to be in the right state of mind…" I said to myself, before looking at Histoire as she looked at me. "Game quote."

She nodded in acknowledgement, as we entered an elevator on the other side of the 'penthouse'.

As I walked inside, I immediately noticed that there was only two floor buttons in this elevator.

"...Hmm." I watched as Histoire pressed the button and the elevator descended. "...where ARE we going?"

Histoire remained silent, before the elevator opened to a big empty black room, with a strange power button in the center, what seemed to be holograms or code were floating around the room, and the power button was giving off a strong light.

It wasn't blindingly bright, but I wasn't going to be looking directly at it for too long.

"Have a seat." Histoire said, as I sat down cross legged in front of what I assumed to be Planeptune's Sharicite. "Close your eyes."

I did as asked. From this moment on, I couldn't tell you what Histoire was doing, but I could tell you that I was forced to sit there like that for three hours.

Why three hours? Because apparently Histoire does everything in threes.

Once she had finished… doing whatever, I was allowed to open my eyes.

Once I did, I looked to my right to see a deadpanning IF and Histoire looking over some holographic menus.

"So he IS from another dimension?" Asked IF.

"It's more complicated than that." Said Histoire.

"...In which way?" I asked, standing up.

Histoire turned to me, before looking back at the holo menus.

"Well, from what I gathered, you aren't from this world. That we now know to be the case." Said Histoire. "And I wouldn't say other 'dimension', because that would establish that you're world is in some way a variant of OURS."

"Which it really isn't." I said.

"Then at a lack for a better word, I'd say parallel universe." Said IF.

"Seems about right." I said, before scratching the back of my neck. "So now that this info has… been brought to light… what exactly happens now?"

"Well, since the introduction of this new info…" Began Histoire. "And the fact that it DOES seem like you arrived here against your will…"

IF finished for her. "Your charges have… changed a bit. Well, it's more like where you'll be kept really."

"...Go on…" I said, crossing my arms in intrigue.

"You'll be placed under house arrest… in the basilicom." Said Histoire.

"...Come again?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "So what, I'm staying her for seven years now?"

"Only long enough to know that you aren't going to be an issue." Said IF.

"...This doesn't feel like an idea EITHER of you would have." I said, narrowing my eyes.

"That's because it wasn't." Said IF. "Nep actually gave the suggestion, I think it was the prospect of having a 'player' live with you was something Nep got a bit over excited about."

"Can I actually ask about that." I said. "Neptune keeps referring to me as a 'Player'... what exactly… well, what IS a player in this world?"

"A Player is the personified force controlling how select portions of history play out." Said Histoire.

"It's also during these moments in history where Nep is able to 'Break the fourth wall' as she calls it." Said IF. "Otherwise, there isn't really any way for her TO do it. Without the player there, there isn't anyone to really do it to."

"...So uh, why is Neptune so… uh, adamant about me being a player then?" I asked.

"It's probably due to the fact that you can actually talk back to her now." Said IF, a slight smirk on her face.

"...Are there like, any others. That are... similar a 'Player'?" I clarified.

"We know of three others." Said Histoire. "Readers, who don't do anything but watch as history unfolds. Writers, who sculpt the history of the world into stories for readers. And Developers, who do the same as writers, but instead of Readers watching, it's Players playing. A Developer can make different outcomes, that a Player can try to achieve one of said outcomes."

"Huh…" I said. "...So does this give me like… powers or something?"

"As it currently stands, we don't know exactly." Said Histoire. "A Player has never actually come here before, so this is a new phenomenon."

"So there's a chance… but not a likely one." I said.

"That sounds about right." Said IF. "Some may form as things move along, but for now, none that we can see."

"We should head back up." Said Histoire. "I'll have some guards prepare the guest room for you Bryce."

"Alright." I said. "Oh hey, so will I need to like, help out around here? Like, the uh, Guild thing?"

"I don't see why you wouldn't." Said IF. "It'll help give us a better impression if you're helping Nep with her shares. Nep knows she probably needs the help."

"Though you will need to be accompanied by either Neptune, or Nepgear whenever you go out." Said Histoire.

"Right, cause of house arrest." I said. "It's sounding more like parol now…"

"We're not sure what to describe the situation as." Said IF.

"Well, if that's how things are going… I'm going to need a weapon for Questing…" I said.

"I can take care of that when you sign up." Said IF.

"Oh, another thing." I began. "...Yeah, Can I have my stuff back now?"


	7. Day 55-cont: AND HIT IT TILL IT DIES!

Here I was, facing one of the most important decisions I was going to ever make in this world.

The decision to join ASIC earlier is NOT as important as this one!

The question of the ages…

What gun do I want?

It was a serious question, one that I was happy I had help with deciding. However, while I couldn't get the first gun-nut that came to mind, I did find someone who was a reliable substitute.

If you're wondering why I'm not saying who's helping me yet, well… It's not really the first person I would ask.

"Okay, so before we go any further, we need to go over a bit of gun safety." Said IF. "Just a few basic rules. First, always treat your gun as if it's loaded. Which basically means to keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to shoot."

This continued on for several minutes before IF would even let me really look through anything.

Once the info dump was over with, we first started out trying to get a good idea on my current fighting style.

Which, might I say, was non existent. Really, all we ended up establishing is that I'm not trained in anything, and that I have good aim. I think.

So that's why I'm looking through the gun section of this weapons shop.

"Would somebody _PLEASE,_ get this man a gun." Said Neptune, doing her best Laurence Fishburne impression.

"Explain to me again why you're here?" I asked, picking up a M6H2 magnum, before putting it back.

"Are you kidding? I'm not going to miss this!" Said Neptune, as she watched me intently as I picked up a SA-3 Mozambique, before swapping the gun for my left hand. "This is like watching someone go through the Awakening and choosing between the Sword, Shield, and Magic Staff!"

"I'm glad to know my life reminds you so much of a video game…" I said, handing the Mozambique to Neptune. "Hold onto that for now. Also, let's leave KH out of this for now, 'kay?"

I sighed, picking up a silver handgun with a purple hue to it. It seemed to be a custom skin.

"Let's see…" I began, looking at the text engraving on the side. "Kimber Warrior… Looks like a custom skin… Looks to be slightly Hydro Dipped to get this kind of look..."

"Ooh…" Neptune put in her two scents, leaning over my shoulder.

"..." I turned around to see her kneeling on a table of sorts.

"...Can you get off the table please?" Asked IF, as she walked over to us. "So, found anything you like?"

"These." I said, picking the Mozambique up in my left hand and holding the Kimber Warrior in my right.

"Hmm… I'd say let's just start with the Kimber." Said IF. "For someone who's new to guns and their recoil, a semi-automatic styled pistol will be best to get the hang of."

"Well, can't fault that logic." I said, handing the Mozambique back to Neptune.

"Alright then… the Kimber Warrior huh? More combat based, but for what we're doing, it's probably a good fit." Said IF.

"Alright, let's get that and head out." Said Neptune, lazily putting the gun on the table she was just standing on, not bothering to find out where I had gotten it from.

"Oh, and you can pay me back with your share of the quest for today." Said IF, as she payed for my new gun.

"...Yay…" I muttered, being handed the gun, as well as a leg holster.

* * *

So we're now in the guild, and let me say, it seems to be a LOT more crowded than when I first arrived. However, once people noticed Neptune in the party, they quickly made a path for us to easily move past.

"This is… unsettling." I said.

"Well, that's one way to put it." Said Neptune.

IF chuckled. "You get used to it after a while."

"Well, let's hope that time is sooner than later…." I said, looking over as a few of the adventurer NPCs in the room were looking at me with uncertainty. "I think I even saw a guy grip his sword handle when he saw me next to you guys…"

"Well, we only just made the news public about your new predicament, and some of these adventurers seem to have only just gotten back from Quests, so they may not have seen it yet." Said IF.

"Ah… see, THAT makes sense." I said, as we walked over to the receptionist.

"Hi, we're here to sign him up as a member of the guild." Said IF, pointing to me with her thumb and she talked with the receptionist.

I was soon handed a sheet of paper and basically went to work on filling out my general information. Stuff like my name, age, blood type (Which I was quickly pulled into a back room for a blood test for), place of residence (IF had already filled that one out for me), my choice of weapon, and a few other things.

Once I had filled in all that information, I was quickly placed in front of a camera of sort, and had my photo taken.

"This isn't another mug shot that signifies I'm going back to prison, is it?" I asked IF, as Neptune laughed behind her.

"Ha ha…" IF deadpanned, as I was handed a card with said photo on it.

IF then moved me over to a fingerprint scanner. "Insert your card and press your thumb on the scanner."

I did as asked, before a ding was heard as my card slid out a bit, signaling me to grab it.

"Alright, now that we're done with that, we can get us some quests." Said IF.

I nodded, as we walked over to a nearby terminal. IF swiped her card, as her profile showed up for a second before she was shown the guild's quest list.

"During your sign in process, we found that you happen to be stuck at level 1, so we'll probably go through some of the more easier leveled quests." Said IF.

"Or, we could do some harder ones and have carry him so he gets lots of EXP." Said Neptune.

I just turned to Neptune. "Neptune, with how low of a level I got, I'll just be agroing quite literally EVERYTHING around me." I said.

"That is true Nep." Said IF. "Also, don't think you're so great as well right now, due to how low your shares are right now in comparison to earlier, your level has also dropped a considerate amount."

"Nepu!? I'm down back to level 1 as well?" Neptune asked.

"More like Level 5, but still." Said IF.

I was standing off to the side smirking at Neptune's misery.

"With that said, let's do something easier." Said IF, finding a quest she thought would be alright. "Here then. A fetch quest… collect 30 Dogoo Jelly."

"Oh god dammit…" I sighed.

"What's with that?" Asked Neptune.

"Let's just say that my… first few steps in Gamindustri were followed immediately afterwards by almost being Dogoo slime." I said. "A fate I never ever want to happen."

"Trust me when I say this Bryce, at least you don't get the perverted side of those freaking slimes." Said IF, shivering a bit.

"True enough." I said.

IF pressed a few buttons on the console, before turning to me and Neptune.

"Alright, ID cards please." She said, before I handed mine to her.

Neptune seemed to already know what to do, as she was already holding hers out.

After IF handed the Cards back to us, we set out.

Back… to the Virtua Forest.

* * *

"So you ready for this?" Neptune asked as we walked through the forest. IF said she knew of a nearby field that Dogoos tend to spawn around.

"Physically? Yes. Mentally… I could be better." I responded, pulling my Kimber Warrior out of it's holster, before sliding the magazine out, checking the ammo in said mag, before slapping the magazine back into it's magwell. I quickly looked over the gun before putting it back into it's place on my leg holster.

"You'll do fine." Said IF, before we stopped. "Here we are."

I looked out, yep, fields as far as can see. Well, more like it was a clearing, but a big one nonetheless. I can see why people would label this as a field.

"Okay, so… where are they?" I asked, grabbing my handgun as I looked around, the handgun still resting in it's holster.

"...There!" Shouted Neptune, as a large group of Dogoos came into view.

"Here we go!" I exclaimed, pulling the gun out of it's holster as I gripped it with both hands, holding it out forwards as I looked down the sights with my right eye.

Let it also be said that I was terrified of not only the Dogoos, but my own inability to actually use this thing in my hands, so let's just say that I almost let the gun drop out of my grasp when I fired the first round.

Hey, I'm Canadian, I was also 16 before coming to Gamindustri, the only 'guns' I've ever held in my life, have been Nerf guns, and that isn't anything to go by when you're dealing with ACTUAL FIREARMS.

So as I pulled the trigger, two things happened. Firstly, my arms flung themselves backwards, and I had to try and keep my balance and not fall over. Secondly, a Dogoo that was a bit too close to Neptune immediately exploded.

"Nice shot!" Said Neptune, turning to me, finding me fall flat on my ass.

"Recoil… you are a cruel mistress." I said, pulling myself up.

After regaining my composure, I quickly ran up to Neptune.

"Okay, where were we?" I asked, aiming at another Dogoo and pulling the trigger, the recoil on the gun significantly less than before.

"Gotcha!" Shouted Neptune, slashing at what I assumed to be another Dogoo behind me.

IF ran over to us. "Okay, you seem to be getting the hang of that." She said, slicing at an oncoming Dogoo with her Katars.

"Yeah, let's go with that." I said, raising my left arm up into the air as a Dogoo latched onto it. "Get off dammit!" I shouted, pointing my handgun underneath it, however still not close enough to actually shoot my arm, and pulled the trigger, killing another one.

"Okay, that's like… 3 now." I said, looking up as 4 more approached me. "4, wait… 7."

I quickly pulled the trigger four times, each shot landing around the center of the 4 approaching Dogoos, each one exploding into a pile of goop.

"Booyah!" I said, before letting my used magazine drop to the ground as I pulled a fresh mag out and slid it into the magwell.

"Hey, get off!" Shouted IF, signalling me to turn around.

As I did, I found myself staring at Neptune and IF, only, them both covered in rapidly moving slimes. Did I mention said slimes were moving around some more… personal areas.

"Bryce! Do something!" Exclaimed IF.

"I'm both disgusted and aroused and… and I can't look away." I said, my eyes unmoving as I watched the scene unfold in front of me.

"Hey! Stop staring and help us!" Shouted Neptune. "You get enough of that with that game of yours!"

"For the LAST TIME, It's NOT a porn game!" I shouted.

"Turn it on and let me play it and I'll decide that fact." Said Neptune.

"Can you two stop bickering and just help!?" Exclaimed IF.

"ALRIGHT FINE!" I shouted, running up to IF as I quickly removed the dogoos off of her.

"You couldn't have done that sooner?" Asked IF, glaring at me.

"Nope." I said, popping the P.

We turned to Neptune to see she had transformed and had dealt with the slimes.

"See, you had that." I said.

Before Purple Heart could respond, the sound of dozens of Dogoos were heard, as we all turned to see a bunch running together.

"What are they…?" I began to ask, before they started melding their bodies together. "Oh… THAT. They're doing THAT."

"Run!" Shouted IF as we turned around and ran the opposite direction, a giant Dogoo following us.

"DOGOO!" The giant Dogoo shouted.

"What the f*ck!? Since when could they do THAT!?" I asked, as we stopped and turned to it.

"Since the second game." Said Purple Heart.

"Gee, THANKS." I said sarcastically. "That's SUPER helpful right now."

"Stop talking and take this thing down!" Shouted IF, as she and Purple Heart charged the Giant Slime.

"EAT LED!" I shouted, standing back as I unloaded a magazine into him. As you can imagine, I wasn't doing much.

"Apparently eats led… Guys this isn't working!" I shouted, dropping the used magazine before reaching for a fresh one.

"I can see that!" Shouted IF, jumping back to me.

"...Got any grenades?" I asked.

"What? Why would I have grenades?" Asked IF.

"Sh*t! There went that idea…" I muttered, loading in the fresh magazine before unloading the whole thing into the giant dogoo.

"Didn't we already established that didn't work!?" Exclaimed IF, as Purple heart crashed down next to us.

"Wow, so much for the goddess of Planeptune…" I muttered, as Purple Heart just stood up, giving me a deadpanned face.

"Said goddess was still the reason for your capture." She said.

"...Okay, new plan!" I shouted, inserting a fresh magazine.

"That is?" Asked IF, as the Dogoo closed in.

"Well, we can…" I began, before stopping to think. "Um… like, group up…"

"What?" Purple Heart asked in confusion.

It took me a moment to realize where my subconscious was going with this, and when I realized it, I had a giant smirk on my face.

"AND HIT IT TILL IT DIES!" I shouted, before being smacked upside the head by IF.

"That is the worst plan ever." Said IF.

"*Cough* Ofalltime *Cough*" I coughed out.

"What was that?" Asked Purple Heart.

"Allergies." I answered.

"You're allergic to dogs?" Asked IF.

"No, I'm allergic to cats." I answered.

"Are you also lost on his logic?" Asked IF to Purple Heart.

"No guys seriously, it's a dogoo. Just because it may be massive and not be showing any signs of damage, it still has a health bar. All we need to do, is hit it in quick succession so that it can't focus on regenerating. From there, we've basically killed it." I said.

"...You really don't know how Dogoos work, do you?" Asked IF.

"Nope." I responded, before looking at the Giant Dogoo who was just sitting there waiting for us to finish our conversation. "...Hey, thanks for not killing us while we had this conversation, BTW."

The Dogoo just nodded at me with a smile on their face, before I ran full charge at it.

"FOR THE MECHONIS!" I exclaimed, charging at the Dogoo.

"Wait Bryce-! You idiot!" Shouted IF, running back to the fight, Purple Heart flying in tow.

And so, the epic battle of epic proportions began. The battle was fought for many many years, and some could say that the battle was still raging on. Or better yet, never happened to begin wi-

"We're not doing that!" Shouted IF, as she slashed at the giant Dogoo forcing it back.

"Doing what now?" I asked, aiming my gun at the wound IF had just opened up, unloading another clip into it.

The Dogoo just let out a yell of sorts, before jumping towards us.

"Move!" Shouted IF, as I jumped to the side, avoiding the attack.

I reached my hand for another magazine…

"Uh… IF, hate to tell you this now…" I began.

"What!?" She asked, following up an attack by Purple Heart.

"...I MAY be out of ammo." I said, putting my gun back in it's holster.

"Well isn't that convenient?" IF muttered, as I quickly looked up to see the dogoo jumping at IF.

"IF!" I shouted, sprinting as fast as I could, before pushing her out of the way of the attack.

However…

That left me in range of the attack.

"Bryce!" Purple Heart exclaimed as I looked up to see the sky darken before feeling a massive weight slam into my form, slamming me into the ground and inside its gelatinous body.

I tried to move, but the slime around me seemed to not want to budge. It was at this moment that I realized something.

I didn't have air.

I fought as hard as I could from my position, but there wasn't really anything I could do in my position.

I let my body go limp as my vision started to darken, the last thing I saw were the worried faces of IF and Purple Heart.

* * *

"...ce! ...ep, g…"

"St… itt… ut…ne... ull…"

"...ll...e...ke it?"

"...He's waking up!"

* * *

The first thing I noticed after passing out was that I was having some very carbonated liquid pour down my throat.

The next was me not swallowing it right, and then having the process redone.

The only difference, was that I didn't feel like a corpse anymore.

After about 3 minutes of wallowing in pain, I felt my eyes start to open, as I was blinded by the light of god.

"Oh great, I'm dead…" I said, looking up at the bright light. "Well, at least I'm in heaven, and not hell… that's a plus I guess."

"Oh good, you're awake." Said a familiar voice, as IF blocked out the light as she leaned overtop of me.

"Oh no… the face of god is that of IF's… I think I'll take hell now…" I said.

"You're not dead!" IF Said.

"Tell that to the bright light behind you!" I said back.

"That's the sun!" Said IF.

"...Oh… OH…!" I said in realization.

"You are the quite possibly the dumbest person I've ever met…" IF said.

"I'm not dumb, I just have a thing with trolling people that I don't have a good track record with." I said, sitting up. "...So… what exactly?"

"We hit it really hard." Was IF's answer.

"...Well, did we at least beat the quest?" I asked.

"Turns out, the item the giant Dogoo dropped wasn't even the one we needed for the quest! What a jip!" Said the voice of Neptune as she walked over to me.

"...So that means…?" I began to ask.

"Yep." Was all the response I got.

"...Wee woo…" Was all I said in response.

* * *

"I want to be dead right now…" I muttered, as I tiredly walked into the guild hall. We had beaten the quest, but let's just say I didn't want to be seeing any Dogoos for the rest of my time here.

"Look on the bright side, you're not in jail now." Said Neptune.

"Neptune, I wouldn't call that a 'Bright Side'. I almost DIED!" I said. "Honestly, If I did, I bet someone would have used that as a means of saying I was 'Executed' behind closed doors!"

"You're exaggerating!" Neptune said, waving her hand in a 'You're overthinking it' kind of manor.

"Sorry, near death experiences make me paranoid." I said, looking over at IF. "We good?"

"Yep, now all that's left is to return to the Basilicom and let Histoire know how your first quest went." Said IF.

"...Neptune, make my sacrifice a lot more heroic sounding than it actually was." I said.

"Why can't you do that?" Asked Neptune.

"Two reasons. One, I can't bullshit to save my life, I smile too much. It's obvious when I'm lying." I began.

"What's the other?" Asked IF.

"Two…" I began, before flopping to the floor, as I passed out from exhaustion.

"Bryce? Bryce!? BRYCEEEEEEE!" Neptune shouted, before everything went dark.


	8. Omake 1: The 'Leak'

"Uh… Aaah….. Mmm….. Gah...HMMM!"

"Bryce, can you please stop making those noises?" Asked Histoire as I layed on my back, sprawled out on the couch.

"But I'm bored…!" I said, my words trailed on, as if to prove my point.

"Then go get a job at the Guild." Said Histoire.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that all by my lonesome, oh wait…! I can't!" I said, deadpanning at Histoire. "Neptune and Gears are in Lastation for some kind of get together, and IF and Compa are out doing who knows what."

"Then why didn't you go with Neptune and Nepgear?" Asked Histoire with an eye twitch.

"Do you honestly expect me to have not asked?" I questioned Histoire, keeping my deadpanned expression. "Turns out Noire doesn't exactly feel 'comfortable' with me in Lastation's Basillicom just yet. Imagine that…!"

"...Can you at least be bored somewhere else?" Asked Histoire. "I have a lot of paperwork that needs to be filled out before the end of the day, and you aren't helping me finish this any quicker."

"Ugh, fine…!" I said, flopping to the floor as I slid on my back over to Neptune's room, only getting back onto my feet to open the door, in which, I then flopped back down and kept sliding into her room.

As I closed the door to Neptune's room, I took a moment to look around.

"...Nope, nothing. God dammit, why can't I think of anything to quell my boredom!?"

I sighed, before grabbing my phone.

"Might as well check what videos I still have on here…" I said to myself. "...Oh? Oh…! YES!"

I felt the smile on my face grew as I realized what I had in my hands. After doing a quick internep check, I quickly got to work on the nearby computer.

"I am so glad Gears made this thing like she did… my old laptop has honestly nothing on this thing. Then again, I doubt any computer from my world could stack up to this thing easily." I said to myself, opening up a video editing software program called A-Nep-e Premier Elements, a play on Adobe Premier Elements.

"Note to self: Ask why everything is named after Neptune." I said to myself, making a note as I pulled up the video file off my phone and onto the program.

"Now… to find a way to actually have people look at this." I said to myself, before I turned to the one place I could think of.

"...Let's see… Why not check… Vert's blog?" I asked myself, opening up the blog before looking for the hidden link embeded inside said blog.

"Shall we play a game?" I asked, as I entered the secret blog. "Ah… I forget what movie that's from… being born during the year of 2000 was a fun experience…"

"Let's see… Oh? New information about a major expansion for four goddesses online to be showed off the weekend huh?" I asked myself, before looking at the timer. It was Monday, a full 5 days before said show and tell. "...I think I found what I'll be doing."

* * *

 _ **Location Update: Lastation**_

 _ **POV CHANGE: 3rd**_

"...Does anyone else feel a chill just go down their spine?" Asked Neptune, as she sat down with Noire, Blanc and Vert in front of a TV screen.

"I didn't feel anything." Said Vert.

"You sure it's not just your imagination?" Asked Blanc.

"I dunno… I have a feeling someone is planning something." Said Neptune, looking off into the distance, and by distance, I mean one of the walls of the room.

"Would you calm down? Who are you worried about, Bryce? He's in Planeptune's basilicom, he can't do anything to ruin this for us." Said Noire.

"I dunno… he has his ways…" Said Neptune.

"Enlighten us." Said Vert.

"Well… I would like to, but let's just say that you don't ever want to be on Bryce's bad side in an Omake chapter. Reality isn't shattered right here." Said Neptune.

"Wait, what was tha-" Noire began to ask, before she was interrupted by Vert.

"It's been leaked!?"

"What's the problem Vert?" Asked Neptune.

"The debut trailer for the next expansion to Four Goddesses Online has just been leaked!" Said Vert.

"So…?" Noire asked.

"This is HUGE! Leaks haven't happened like this in… years!" Said Vert.

"...We checking it out?" Asked Neptune.

"Yes." Said Vert.

Everything started out well enough, the logos for the companies faded into existence on the screen, before fading back into nothingness. Eventually, after showing the logo for the game, everything faded to black. It's dead quiet…

And suddenly, I don't know if you know this, but the video begins, very subtly…

 _*quick drum beat*_

 _Duh duh, duh, duh duh, da da da da, dah dah, duh…_

A man in a brown suit appears onscreen, a mike in front of him, he's taping to this fresh beat like, this is the best idea for a song I've ever had.

And then the lyrics start to play, and everything gets so much worse.

' _We're no strangers to love_

 _You know the rules and so do I_

 _A full commitment's what I'm thinking of_

 _You wouldn't get this from any other guy_

 _I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling_

 _Gotta make you understand'_

It was at this moment that the CPUs had realized they'd been had, but they just… couldn't look away. It was if there was something hypnotizing about the video.

 _Never gonna give you up_

 _Never gonna let you down_

 _Never gonna run around and desert you_

 _Never gonna make you cry_

 _Never gonna say goodbye_

 _Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you'_

* * *

 _ **Location Updated: Planeptune**_

 _ **POV CHANGE:**_ **Bryce**

" _We've known each other for so long_

 _Your heart's been aching, but_

 _You're too shy to say it_

 _Inside, we both know what's been going on_

 _We know the game and we're gonna play it"_

To those asking, that was me singing only slightly off pitch. Well, just, not with the whole weird tone voice edit, but you get the idea.

" _And if you ask me how I'm feeling_

 _Don't tell me you're too blind to see"_

" _Never gonna give you up_

 _Never gonna let you down_

 _Never gonna run around and desert you_

 _Never gonna make you cry_

 _Never gonna say goodbye_

 _Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you"_

It was at this point that Histoire had entered the room, and I immediately turned to face her with my left hand extended at her.

" _Never gonna give you up_

 _Never gonna let you down_

 _Never gonna run around and desert you_

 _Never gonna make you cry_

 _Never gonna say goodbye_

 _Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you"_

She immediately left the room soon after.

 _(Ooh, give you up)_

 _(Ooh, give you up)_

 _Never gonna give, never gonna give_

 _(Give you up)_

 _Never gonna give, never gonna give_

 _(Give you up)_

 _We've known each other for so long_

 _Your heart's been aching, but_

 _You're too shy to say it_

 _Inside, we both know what's been going on_

 _We know the game and we're gonna play it_

 _I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling_

 _Gotta make you understand_

 _Never gonna give you up_

 _Never gonna let you down_

 _Never gonna run around and desert you_

 _Never gonna make you cry_

 _Never gonna say goodbye_

 _Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you_

 _Never gonna give you up_

 _Never gonna let you down_

 _Never gonna run around and desert you_

 _Never gonna make you cry_

 _Never gonna say goodbye_

 _Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you_

* * *

 _ **Location Updated: Lastation**_

 _ **POV CHANGE: 3rd**_

 _Never gonna give you up_

 _Never gonna let you down_

 _Never gonna run around and desert you_

 _Never gonna make you cry_

 _Never gonna say goodbye_

 _Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you_

As the song ended, the screen turned to black, before a single line scrolled from the bottom to the top.

 _ **YOU JUST GOT RICK ROLL'D!**_

"...What just happened?" Asked Noire as the CPUs in the room contemplated their existence for a few moments.

* * *

 _ **Location Updated: Planeptune**_

 _ **POV CHANGE: 1st**_

I sat down at the foot of the computer as I looked at the comments on the video I had just released.

In a matter of mere minutes, the video had gone viral, and everyone only had one question.

What the hell did it mean to be 'Rick Roll'd'?

"Welp, there's that done with for now." I said, leaning back into the chair.

"...Ugh… I'M BORED!"

Only for the bedroom door to open to show Neptune and Nepgear walk into the room.

"Hey guys, enjoy your trip?" I asked from my position.

"Up until we were Rick Roll'd." Said Neptune.

"...What?" I asked.

"Someone faked that they leaked the trailer and EVERYONE bought it!" Said Neptune.

"That sounds pretty bad." I said, a slight smile on my face as I tried to contain myself.

"...You don't think you'd know anything about that, would you?" Asked Gears as I sat up.

"What? No…" I said, the edges of my mouth lifting up a bit.

"...Bryce… what's that on the PC?" Asked Neptune.

"See, that's a funny story… uh…" I paused, as I turned to see that it showed my account and the video view count and much more info.

I slowly turned back to Neptune and Gears with a 'I'm f*cked' smile on my face.

"...Well, about that…" I began, before running out the bedroom door.

"Bryce get back here!" Shouted Neptune behind me.

"NEVAH!" Was my response.

And kids, this is why you never want to deal with a very bored Bryce. He's no fun when that's in play.


	9. 56-64: Acting before thinking

"Are you sure you want to go ahead with this?" IF asked me.

"Yes." I said, rolling my shoulder. "I can't just use my Kimber for everything, I need to know how to use something else."

"Okay, but why did you ask HER for help with this?" Asked IF as she gestured to Neptune, who was standing opposite of me a bit aways, a wooden katana in her hands.

"Do YOU know anyone else that knows how to wield a sword?" I asked.

"Well there's-" IF began, before I cut her off.

"Who DOESN'T happen to hate my guts?" I deadpanned.

"I'm sure they don't hate your guts, Bryce…" IF deadpanned.

"They might as well..." I responded, grabbing a wooden bokken that I was given a few minutes ago.

"You ready to lose!?" Neptune asked from across the field.

"I thought this was training!?" I yelled back.

"It is! I beat you into the ground, and eventually you'll learn how to get good." Said Neptune, a smirk on her face as she held her hands on her hips, a content smile on her face.

"...I take it back, ANYONE who could teach me hates my guts." I muttered. "Yeah, any chance I can back out!?"

"Nope!" Neptune said, charging at me. I quickly bent my knees as I held my weapon in my hands, awaiting her first strike.

"Dual Edge!" Neptune shouted, swinging her katana down hard, as quickly held up by bokken to block it, the force of the blow staggering me a bit.

"Gnh!" I grunted, as I barely held my ground against Neptune.

Neptune just smirked as she slid her blade down to the ground, bringing my bokken along with it. My grip didn't leave the sword, but I was wide open.

The next thing I knew, I was clutching my nose as I had received an elbow to the face.

"Mother Fffffffff…." I groaned, moving my hand away from my nose, good not broken.

"Variable Edge!" Shouted Neptune, as I looked down just in time to see her Katana reel back, before swinging at me, sending me into the air.

"What the hell!?" I exclaimed, before realizing Neptune had jumped up after me. "Son of a bit-"

I was unable to finish as I was quickly slammed into the ground.

"Ow…" I moaned out, pulling myself up. I quickly picked up my Bokken, which I had discarded whilst I was worried I had suffered a bloody nose.

"Okay…" I said, spinning the sword around in my hand. "Let's go…"

I quickly ran at Neptune, as I went for a thrust attack.

"Thunder thrust!" I shouted, my blade pointed at her midsection.

Neptune just smirked, as she easily redirected the attack to the side.

"Cross Combination!"

"F*ck me…" Was all I was able to get out, before being battered around, and sent into the air.

I quickly learned from last time, as I blocked the next attack, however forgetting that I was in the air and I was still being slammed into the ground.

Side note, the basilicom staff will now have to deal with a man sized crater now, so there's that.

"...Ow…" I squeaked out, not feeling like moving.

"Da na na na, na na, na, na nah!" Neptune sang the final fantasy win theme as she gave a piece scene, clearly not taking notice I was currently imprinted into the ground.

"...Uh, Nep, I think you overdid it…" IF said, looking down at me as I refused to move from my spot.

"...My everything…" I muttered.

"Oh he'll be fine." Neptune said. "Let's just get Compa to heal him and then we can go back to training."

"Dear god, please no…" I muttered.

"There is no god." Neptune said. "And you're talking to the only thing close to that right now."

"...IF… I want you to clear my browser history." I said.

"We haven't given you access to a computer." IF said.

"...IF… I'd like access to a computer, so that you have a reason to clear my browser history…"

"Come on, help me get him out of there Nep." Said IF.

"Oh fine." Neptune said, skipping over to me. "No peeking~."

"I'd prefer to not feel more pain, thank you very much." I deadpanned.

"Also, what kind of skill name is 'Thunder Thrust'?" Asked Neptune.

"Don't ask, please…" I said, closing my eyes.

* * *

It's been a week and a bit since then. I have, for the moment, not taken up Neptune's training. Instead, I've been resting, since apparently, a wood katana CAN cause concussions.

I think it's gone now, but still. It was a pain in my ass.

I walked out of the room I had called my home for the past 7 seven days and walked out to find… nothing.

"Uh… Histoire?" I called out.

I was soon greeted by the tiny fairy, as she levitated out of room off to the side.

"Oh, Bryce. You're up early." Said Histoire.

"I've done nothing but sleep for the past seven days. I think I'm fine now." I said. "But uh… where, IS everyone?"

"Vert had invited them all over to Leanbox for a party." Said Histoire. "And since the… issue of the other nations not exactly being very… open, to you…"

"I understand." I said. "That, and I was just finishing up recovering from the concussion."

Histoire nodded. "If you need me, I'll be in the Sharecite room."

I nodded as I watched her head out of the room. "...Now what the hell do I do?" I asked myself, looking around. "...Why not check what Nepgear is up to?"

I walked into what I assumed to be Nepgear's 'Lab' of sorts. It was an empty office space that was remade to be a bit more open for tech stuff.

I closed the door behind me as I looked around.

"...Hmm…" I put my hand to my chin as I looked around. "...It's a lot of gaming stuff… accessories, processor boosts, portable mods for consoles… And a few plans that turn the basilicom into a mech…"

I stopped. "Okay, that's awesome and all, but not exactly helpful."

What exactly was I even looking for.

I let out a sigh. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my cell phone.

"...Wonder if I could get some files transferred over…" I thought to myself, before punching in a few familiar numbers.

After a few seconds of waiting, a voice that seemed to have a distorted tone to it answered the phone.

"I'm not in the mood for any telemark-"

"Anonydeath, It's me Bryce. Is the channel secure?" I asked.

"When is it not?" The familiar voice of Anonydeath was undistorted as we got onto business. "How are you holding up, Bryce?"

"Well enough, I'm not rotting in jail, so there's that." I said. "Hey, remember that back door we installed in Lastation's R&D division, was there any chance you found the files for those web shooters I… acquired?"

"Even if I didn't, I still made my own blueprints off the ones you stole. When you let me take a look at them, I did it then."

"Okay, so can you email me the files?" I asked.

"Already done." Said Anonydeath.

"Thanks." I said. "I should get off the line now. Talk later."

I quickly hung up, before moving over to my email as I pulled up the files.

"Okay... Let's get down to business!" I sang to myself, raising a fist in the air, before looking around the workshop. "...And to figure out how to even put it together."

* * *

"I give up!" I exclaimed, flopping onto a nearby chair. "...I'm going to need to ask Nepgear about this later then."

I sighed, before pulling my phone out. It was late, very very late.

I gave one more look around the room, before noticing a weird machine that had the words 'Do Not Touch' labeled on it.

"...Imma touch it." I said to myself, walking over as I looked it over.

"Let's see… Fabricator Prototype, has a tendency to blow up items that it doesn't like fabricating… needs blueprint files to use…" I said to myself, before a smirk came onto my face.

"...Let's try it." I said, plugging my phone in and transferring over the files for the right wrist mounted web shooter.

After about 5 minutes of waiting, a dinging sound was heard as the item was sent out, the screen saying the word 'success' on it.

"...Now let's try the other one…" I said to myself, starting the printing process, only to be alerted 3 minutes in to hide.

I jumped to the side, as the machine exploded from the inside, the outer machine was fine, but whatever it was making inside, not so much. The inside looked like a spider had just emptied it's spinneret in an explosion.

"...Okay, so I only got one for now then…" I muttered to myself.

"Bryce…?" Asked Histoire from another room. "What was that sound?"

"...uh… nothing?" I said, walking out of the room, attaching the web shooter to my right wrist, hiding it under my long sleeves.

As I walked up to Histoire, I saw she was just finishing up a call. "What was that about?"

"A strange woman attacked Neptune, Vert, Noire, and Blanc, and is currently holding them hostage with something called anti-share crystals." Said Histoire.

"What about the others, they alright?" I asked.

"The candidates as well as IF and Compa are fine. They'll be heading home while I research these 'Anti-Share Crystals'." Histoire said, floating into another room.

A few seconds pass as I stand there, hearing the door close immediately gets me fighting with myself.

"...Don't even think about. Don't even think about it…" I muttered to myself, before cringing in uneasiness, and running over to my room.

I quickly ran over to where I kept my Kimber Warrior, before strapping it to my leg.

"...Headphones are required." I said, grabbing my Bluetooth headset. It was plugged in for a while, so it was basically fully charged. "Okay, I'm ready…"

I then turned around and grabbed a grey plaid scarf.

"Just in case." I said, wrapping it around my neck. "Now then… To hope that this turns out better than expected."

I quickly walked over to where Histoire was, only to find her busy researching, and by that, I mean she was so busy that nothing would grab her attention for a while.

"...I'm so going to regret this…" I said to myself, before walking to the balcony.

"...I'm going to die." I said, before jumping off the balcony, quickly entering a free fall.

"OH MY GOD!" I exclaimed, before firing a web line to the side of the basilicom, as I shot into the air, flying into the city.

As I arrived, I quickly shot another line, quickly realizing how restricting web swinging is when you only have one shooter on one arm.

I pulled the scarf over my nose, so most of my face was covered. Now it was just a matter of getting onto a boat to Leanbox.

Which was actually surprisingly easy to do. All I did was just walk in and I was off. I don't even think I bought a ticket.

Yeah I am SO getting yelled at for this later.

* * *

...Where the f*ck do I go!?

It's been at least half a day since I arrived in Leanbox, and all that's happened has just been me aimlessly swinging through the city.

"This is honestly a pain…" I muttered. "...Seriously, you would think finding the basilicom would be easy, but finding the damn R&D division was easier than this!"

Then again, I didn't find said division, but still. It's the thought that counts.

I let out a sigh, before I felt my phone start ringing.

"...Hello?" I asked, standing on top of a tall building.

"Bryce? Where are you right now?" Asked the voice of IF.

"...Why?" I asked back, avoiding the question.

"No reason. It's just that apparently people have seen someone web swinging through Leanbox for about 12 hours just now." Said IF. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with that, right?"

"...Well, you see, there's a funny story there-"

"Bryce! Why are you in Leanbox?" Asked IF, whilst in the background you could hear who I assumed to be the candidates talking in the background.

"Alright… but you can't be mad at me." I said.

"Bryce…" IF said.

"Alright First… I was minding my own business!"

"How does minding your own business have anything to do with this!?" Asked IF.

"Fine… I overheard the CPUs are being held by some weird lady and she's using Anti-Share Crystals to drain the CPUs of their power." I said. "So… being the guy who I am, I rushed over here because I acted before thinking it through."

"...Where are you?" Asked IF.

"Let's see… I'm on top of the… 3rd? Fourth tallest building in Leanbox." I said.

I could hear IF sigh over the phone, before the line was disconnected.

"...Well sh*t…" I muttered to myself. "...Do I just wait here then or…? Wait, thinking back on the animation… they were in some barren field… I COULD go looking for the CPUs… but it's a character development episode for the candidates…"

I sat on the top of the building waiting, before a few armed guards walked up behind me.

"Sir, you'll be coming with us." Said one of them.

"Where to exactly?" I asked, standing up but not looking at them.

"Miss IF, has requested we grab you from… up here." Said one of the guards.

I sighed. "Fine, but no handcuffs!"

* * *

I walked into the Leanbox basilicom, rubbing my wrists as a pair of handcuffs were removed.

"Why was that necessary?" I asked.

I wasn't given a response, as the guards quickly left the room.

"..." I just turned around, before looking at the door in front of me.

I took a deep breath, before letting it go. "...Here we go…"

I slowly pushed open the door, as a loud squeaking sound was heard as I opened the door, drawing everyone's attention to me.

I just stood there with a 'this is fine' smile on my face. "That door needs to be squeaked, I mean oiled."

I mentally slapped myself, as I looked around the room and it's inhabitants.

IF was looking at me with slight disappointment, Compa was smiling at me, though it wasn't a normal big one.

Nepgear was looking at me in confusion, while the other candidates had ranging reactions.

Uni looked at me with uncertanty. That makes sense, the last time I saw her was when I webbed her face when we took the twins…. Oh right, Rom and Ram.

I just rubbed my arm in embarrassment after getting a quick glance at Rom and Ram.

Rom was hiding behind Ram, while Ram was giving me the hardest glare she could.

To be honest, if looks could kill, she probably could have killed me there. Not because of how scary her glare was, but because I was still a bit ashamed for the whole helping Trick thing.

"...Can someone else please talk now? This is really awkward…" I said, looking off to the side as I rubbed my arm.

"...You do realize that you broke our trust right?" Asked IF. "You left the basilicom, on your own. There are many things we could probably charge you for right now because of that."

"...Yeah, I realize that now." I said. Walking over to a corner, as I flopped down there. "...I guess I'm sitting here until you guys rescue the CPUs or something?" I asked.

No response.

"...Fine then." I said, closing my eyes.

I opened them again, before looking over at Rom and Ram.

"...Sorry about the whole kidnapping you thing." I said, though knowing that there really wasn't anything I could say to make it any better. "...I… can't really say anything else to convince you I'm sorry."

I looked over at Uni.

"Sorry about webbing you in the face." I said, before looking at Nepgear.

"Sorry." Was all I said.

"What are you saying sorry to me?" Asked Nepgear.

"...I MAY have used the fabricator in your workshop to rebuild this thing." I said, rasing my arm up to show the webshooter attached. "And… the other one _might_ have blown up while being fabricated."

I sighed, before standing up. "...Good luck guys."

I walked out the room, closing the door behind me.

* * *

I sat on the balcony, watching as the others drove off to save the CPUs.

"...Why am I ever here?" I asked myself. "...Seriously? I leave what I can basically call prison, to try and save people who didn't need my help in the first place to be saved… and… now I'm just sitting here contemplating it all."

I closed my eyes. "The only reason I thought of even going along with this was because I might have been able to earn back the trust of the other CPUs…" I said. "But I had to have had their trust to begin with... And I've probably just made it worse..."

"...Honestly, there are days that I even start to question what's the point…" I said to myself. "...Why am I the one who has to go through this… why couldn't it just be someone else…?"

I let out a sigh, before closing my eyes.

"...You know what? I don't care any more." I said, standing up. "...I don't care if they want it or not, I don't care what kind of prison sentence will await me, god damn it, I am going with them and saving them."

I opened my eyes, a fire contained deep in them showing that I was going with this plan. No matter what.

"Time to run as fast as I can." I said, firing a web strand at the balcony ledge, before jumping off, the web line acting as I cord so I didn't break my legs on my way down.

"...They went… That way!" I said, looking at the tracks their vehicles made.

* * *

I watched from a bit afar as IF, Nepgear, Compa, Uni, Rom and Ram all got out of the vehicles, and stood up.

"...Arfoire already knows that I'm here, but the others don't." I said to myself. "...I need to find a precise opportunity to sneak into the fight. Whether that be on Arfoire's end, or right now."

I thought on this, before realizing that it would maybe be better to get into the fight at a latter time.

"...Nepgear awakens her full potential soon… I can't have it not happen, so I need to be careful." I muttered, creeping around the area.

"Let's hope this works…" I said to myself.

* * *

I currently stood at the opposite side of where the candidates stood. Having only just gotten here a bit later than I would have wished.

"...And Arfoire is winning… that's nice." I said to myself, looking at the weird transformation that she had undergone.

I had stood up fully at this point, and it seemed nobody had noticed me yet.

"...This is good, now to just get over to the giant Anti-Share Crystal, and f*ck sh*t up." I said to myself, sliding down into the large hole.

I looked up again, seeing that the rest of the candidates had now transformed.

"...Okay, this might go better than hoped…" I muttered to myself.

I looked at the Anti-Share Crystal, finding that some weird hand shadow things were wrapping around the CPUs.

"...Need to hurry." I said, looking over at Warechu. "...Time for a bit of… distracting…"

I relaxed myself as I walked over to Warechu, the rat having not noticed me yet. I looked to my right to see IF and Compa staring at me.

I just gave a quick wave before walking up closer to the rat.

"...So what exactly does this do exactly?" I asked him, causing Warechu to jump, before turning around.

"Grunt!? What are you doing here!?" Warechu exclaimed.

"I forgot that's what you guys called me." I deadpanned. "Seriously, Underling had it better than this."

"What are you doing here!?" He asked.

"What's it look like?" I responded, aiming my Kimber at him. "Turn the Anti-Share Crystal off. Now."

"I don't know how to do that!" He said.

"But you turned it on! How could you not know how to turn it off!?" I asked.

"Does it look like this thing has an off switch!?" Warechu asked me.

"Gah…!" I put away my gun before looking up at Arfoire. "...Okay, now I'm doing something."

I felt myself break into a sprint, as I ran at the Anti-Share Crystal.

The eyes of the goddesses turned to me in shock, as they probably weren't expecting me.

"Surprise, even more surprise, oh my god plot twist- yeah get it out of your systems." I said, firing a web line to the top of the pyramid, as I began to ascend.

"What are you doing here!?" Noire asked me.

"Well, I wasn't going to stay back at the basilicom and do nothing!" I said. "...I don't want to be that guy anymore…"

I shook my head as I reached the top.

"There really isn't any way to get in there." I said. "So… I'm going to kick Arfoire until she stops what she's doing."

"And that'll work?" Asked Neptune.

"Don't know. But at least I tried." I said, before jumping off the pyramid and firing a webline at Arfoire's shoulder.

The reaction was almost instant.

"What the hell is-"

Arfoire didn't have enough time to really react, as my feet connected with her face, as I used the momentum of the attack to bounce off her, before firing another webline and repeating the process.

"Bryce!?" Purple Sister asked in confusion.

"Hi Nepgear!" I said, my fist flying into Arfoire's face. "Not the best time!"

"I'd agree!" Arfoire said, grabbing my neck with her left hand. "I was wondering where the seventh was…"

"Congrats, you found me…~" I said, before webbing up her face, causing her to drop me.

I quickly fell down, only now realizing how high up we were. I felt my descent suddenly stop as I felt someone grab my arm.

"How did you find us?" Nepgear asked, looking down at me, from her position of holding me up so I wasn't dying of fall damage.

"I uh… followed you guys." I said. "Wasn't really any other choice. Also, congrats on the whole HDD thing, but it really isn't the time for that. We need to save your sisters."

I heard the sound of White Sister (Rom) gasping, as we looked over at the Anti-Share Crystal, seeing that the CPUs inside were being consumed.

"Oh no, Blanc!" White Sister (Ram) cried out, as we all stared in shock.

I looked down and saw IF and Compa fire their weapons onto the Crystal, only for it to have no effect.

"What the heck is that thing made out of?" Asked Black Sister.

"Yeah, I'd like to know the same thing." Said Purple Sister, as Arfoire floated down next to us, free of the webbing on her face.

"It's made out of Anti-Energy and it's killing your sisters as we speak." Said Arfoire, as she barreled into an attack, that caused Purple Sister to drop me on reflex to block the incoming attack.

Only for all of us to crash into the ground anyways.

"Ow… Why is it always from the air…?" I asked myself, pulling myself up, holding my head, feeling a bit dizzy.

I looked over to see the Purple Sister look up at the Anti-Share Crystal as it finally turned black.

"NOOOO!" Purple Sister screamed in horror, as I my fist clench the dirt beneath me.

Arfoire just laughed, as she turned to Nepgear.

"So, how's it feel to be an only child now?" Asked Arfoire, the only answer she got were sobs.

"Everything you did was too little to late, but cheer up kid, you'll see your sister again." Said Arfoire. "In fact, I'll reunite the two of you right now."

I felt my muscles ache, as I pushed myself off the ground. I took one shaky step forward, as I looked up at Arfoire.

"How about… you pick on someone your own damn size…" I said, exhaling heavily, drawing my gun.

"You look like you're about to pass out." Said Arfoire. "Now, I am a bit curious, but… who exactly are you?"

"...I'm just some stupid kid." I said, walking in front of Purple Sister and the other candidates. "But honestly, I don't care… you want to get to them, you have to go through me."

"That shouldn't be to hard then." Said Arfoire.

"Maybe…" I said, smirking. "But then again, I'm just buying time."

"Then you can die first!" Shouted Arfoire, charging at me.

Suddenly, four lights emerged from the Anti-Share Crystal, and the next thing I knew, Purple Sister was in front of me, blocking the attack.

"You're wrong about my sister…" Said Purple Sister. "And our other sisters too!"

The other candidates pulled themselves into sitting positions, looking at the Anti-Share Crystal.

"Noire's still alive…" Uni said.

"What!?" Arfoire growled out, looking back.

"See, time stalling… I think I did good enough…" I said, collapsing onto my hands and knees. "Give her hell girls... I'm just gonna stay here and... rest..."

"Hyaaaa!" Purple Sister let out a roar of defiance, as she pushed Arfoire away from her, cancelling out the attack.

Arfoire flew higher into the sky, as the other candidates stood up.

"Our sisters aren't dead." Said Purple Sister, a blue aura of sorts surrounding her. "They're still fighting."

"We're not going to give up either." Said Black Sister, the same aura now surrounding her.

"We'll fight!" White Sister (Rom) said, followed shortly after by White Sister (Ram). "And we'll win!"

All the candidates at this point were surrounded by this energy. I just sat there, a smile on my face as I gasped for air.

"I swear on my life we'll defeat you. We'll put body and soul on the line!" Purple Sister said. "We'll be the shining in the darkness!"

As soon as the words excited her mouth, the aura surrounding the candidates merged into a ring of colour and energy that pulsed out. The sky filling with loads of sparkles, or stars. I couldn't exactly tell.

"What the… Don't tell me, this is Share Energy Resonance…" Arfoire said in shock.

Arfoire's armour started to shatter and come apart.

"What's happening, my anti share energy, my beautiful miracle?" Arfoire asked in confusion. "There erasing it somehow."

Arfoire quickly rocketed away, however the candidates were right on her tail.

However, the force of their take off knocked me onto my back, and as it currently stood, I was in no condition to do anything really.

"...It's surprisingly beautiful…" I said to myself looking at the sky.

The sound of something shattering caught my attention, as I rolled over to see the Anti-Share Crystal shatter, leaving only a crater in it's wake.

"...Give it a moment…" I said to myself, as the sun rose up to my left.

I looked up, seeing the four goddesses were alive and okay.

"...Good job guys." I said, pulling myself up, wobbling a bit. "...This is your victory."

I was very far away from them at this point. Honestly, I'd walk further away if my body would let me. This wasn't my victory, I hadn't earned such a thing.

I looked on as the CPUs had their moment with their sisters, feeling a bit of a sense of… longing.

"...Not surprised really…" I said to myself. "...It's family, something I… don't have anymore..."

I felt a tear start forming in my eye, but I quickly wiped it away.

"..." I looked back at the CPUs and the Candidates, a smile on my face.

Finally, Purple heart started looking around for something specific, and then she finally locked eyes with me.

I gave a sad smile, before my vision started to darken, causing me to place a hand on my head as I wobbled from side to side.

I quickly lost my balance, as I collapsed onto the ground. My vision becoming a swirling mess of black, blue, green and purple.

The sound of someone panicking was the last thing I heard before I passed out.


	10. Day 65-66: Repercussions

It was dark, the only light illuminating the room was the light coming out from behind the nearby curtains. The only sound that protruded the darkness of the room was that of the consistent beeping of a heart monitor to my left.

My head ached, and my vision was also slightly wonky, the room a bit fuzzy, and things upclose were slightly distorted. I'm not sure if it was some kind of drug the doctors gave me, or if it was just the re-awakened concussion I had gone and restarted up again.

I let out a sigh, before the door to my room opened up, no extra light entering, as a nurse walked up to the medical devices to my left and checked a few things, before leaving the room.

This was how things had been for the past 5 days. Well, for me it's felt more like 2 hours. I was asleep for most of it, I think I went into a coma or something. I was unsure.

The seconds turned into minutes, before once again turning into hours, and so on. I lost track.

Eventually, I was given the clear to be allowed bright lights and other such things.

It was at this point that IF made an appearance.

She walked into the room, a neutral face on. I gave her a passive look, before looking down at the bedsheets I've been living under for the past week or so.

"...I don't think I need to tell you that there isn't much hope with keeping things the way they are." Said IF. "After what you did last week, Histoire is reconsidering her choice on the matter."

I felt my hands curl around the comforter. It wasn't doing a good job at comforting me right now.

"...Why did you come here?" Asked IF. "I know it was to help… but why? What reason did you have? For all intents and purposes, you hate Vert, and you don't really care about Noire or Blanc. Nep is the only one I can sort of see as a reason, but even then…"

"...Is it so hard to believe I just wanted to help?" I finally asked, not looking at her. "That I may have wanted to make sure they were safe? That MAYBE this was my way of trying to show that I wasn't a sack of sh*t anymore? Or does that not matter? After all, I left the basilicom and fought a battle that I had basically done nothing that helped with you guys achieving victory…"

I sighed, laying back down as I stared at the ceiling.

"...The goddesses are going to be talking about your sentence following these events tomorrow. Your fate is now in their hands." Said IF.

As she reached the door, she turned to face me.

"...I'll see you tomorrow." Said IF, leaving the room.

I waited as the door closed before silently letting the tears in my eyes fall.

* * *

The next day, a few nurse's walked into the room, bringing a wheelchair along with them.

"If you'll take a seat." Said one of them, helping me into the chair.

They quickly brought me out of the room, as they wheeled me down the hallways. I looked to my right to see Neptune, Vert, Blanc, Noire and IF waiting inside of a room with the door open.

I felt a sudden confusion as to why I wasn't heading there, as we passed the corridor.

We quickly reached an empty surgery room, and I looked back to see one of the nurses lock the door.

I quickly looked around from my spot on the wheelchair, finding one of the nurses picking up an exacto knife looking thingy. Next to her, was some of those things doctors hold transplant organs in.

I felt myself quickly picked up, as I was dropped onto the surgery table.

"What…?" I asked in confusion, still slightly out of it.

I then felt my legs get restrained to the table, as quickly realized that something was wrong.

"What the f*ck are you doing!?" I exclaimed, feeling myself get more and more restrained as the head nurse of the group just smirked behind her surgery mask.

"What does it look like?" She asked. "See, we've heard some pretty interesting things about you, patient."

"Oh yeah?" I asked, struggling against the restraints. "And I've gathered you aren't really nurses or doctors…"

"We know enough." Said the head nurse. "See, we've heard a rumor running around Gamindustri that YOU are perhaps, a player."

I felt my eyes widen in fear as I struggled more against the restraints.

"And since there has NEVER been one of your kind walking amongst US… Well, there are some people who would pay a large sum of money to have a player's heart, or his lungs."

The nurse twirled her scalpel looking blade, as she pointed it at my chest.

"Now then, sedate him please." Said the nurse.

One of the other nurses in question grabbed a needle out from her pack, as she injected me with something.

"Now we wait for it to run it's course and get to it." Said the nurse, as I felt myself start to slowly close my eyes.

As my eyes finally closed, it was calm for a few seconds, before I felt my chest flair in pain as my eyes shot open, letting out the loudest scream of pain I have ever let out."

"Look at that vocal work! Someone will DEFINITELY pay extra for those lungs!" Said the nurse, as she moved the blade down, cutting open my chest.

"Uh, ma'am, isn't he supposed to be passed out?" Asked another nurse as she looked around worriedly.

"His file reads that there is a longer delay on the sedatives working on him than others, something about his immune system processing them differently." Said the third Nurse.

I felt myself struggle against the restraints, before finally my right arm was freed.

"What!? I thought you restrained him!?" Asked the first nurse in shock as I grabbed the scalpel and ripped it out of my chest.

"I did! I swear!" Said the second as I let my right arm free, and then did the same for my legs, my chest bleed profusely.

I fell limp off the surgery table, as I slowly crawled away towards the door.

"Oh no you don't!" Said one of the nurses, as they grabbed my by the hair and lifted me up.

"LET GO!" I shouted, kicking her knee.

Her knee buckled, and I was dropped to the ground. I quickly grabbed ahold of the nurse's head, before slamming it into my knee.

"Get him!" Shouted the second nurse as they charged at me.

I dodged one of the nurses attacks, tripping her, before slamming my fist into her face, slamming her body onto the ground.

I felt myself wobble, as I hit the ground, my would still bleeding.

"You couldn't have made this easy, could you?" Asked the remaining nurse, as she walked overtop of me.

At this moment, I quickly pushed myself up, rearing back my fist, as I swung it upwards.

An old memory with a friend of mine started to play in my head right before my fist connected.

* * *

I was playing Overwatch with my friend G1, he was leaving for RIT in the morning, so this was a bit of a last farewell of sorts.

"So Johnny, Storm and I were having a talk with her, and of course we had to ask." G1 began. "Does it actually hurt to get punched there?"

"Let me guess, yes?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, about as badly as it does for us." Said G1.

"Ooh…" I winced. "That sounds downright terrible."

"Yeah, I'm thinking of adding it to one of my stories but don't know how or where…" G1 said.

"Well, IRL isn't exactly fight heavy, and We're really doing this again has too overpowered characters for them to even think of trying it." I said. "...This is actually sorta tricky…"

"...I just got the most brilliant name for the move." Said G1 suddenly.

"And that is?" I asked.

* * *

"Upperc*nt!" I exclaimed, slamming my fist into the Nurse's crotch with the last of my strength, limping onto the floor soon after.

The Nurse flew into the air, letting out a scream of pain, before hitting the ground on her back.

She stood up, just grabbed her groin, as she winced in pain, hobbling away from me. "YOU D*CK!" She shouted in anger.

"F*ck you to…" I said, feeling my vision start to go fuzzy.

Just as it started to, I heard the locked door behind me being slammed open, as I heard the sound of the nurse cursing and someone rolling me so I was looking at the ceiling.

"Sh*t! He needs immediate help. We need to sow the wound shut and provide a blood transfusion." Said one of the doctors that was checking me over as I felt myself getting lifted up.

"Come on, stay with us…" Said the doctor as I felt my eyes start to close.

* * *

I awoke a few hours later to the sight of an empty room.

"...What? Did I…?" I just looked around confused, before gasping in pain as I put my hand to my chest. I pulled the hospital gown a bit down, as I saw the sight of fresh stitching in place over my chest.

"...Gamindustri sure does love to try and make me commit suicide huh?" I said to myself, looking at the ceiling.

"...What do you mean we can't see him!?" I heard the muffled voice of someone saying outside, as I rotated my head to look at the door.

"He's just gotten out of surgery, and he's most likely sleeping." Said the doctor in a calm voice.

"But we're the CPU Candidates!" Said a different voice, as I felt my eyes widen at this.

"The candidates?" I asked myself, my voice barely above a whisper as I shook my head. "It's just my mind playing tricks on me."

A few seconds later I heard the doctor sigh. "Alright, but no more than a few minutes…"

I turned my head back towards the door as it opened up. Nepgear, Uni, Rom and Ram entering quietly as if they hadn't noticed I was awake.

I closed my eyes, looking at the ceiling. You know how you feel certain things if they're right in front of your face even if your eyes are closed, you can sorta sense them? That was me right now, as I felt four eyes stare at what they thought was my unconscious form.

"...Why are you even here?" I finally asked, as the four candidates looked at me wide eyed as I turned my head to look at them. "Why? Last time I checked, I was personally hated by 3 out of four of you."

Nepgear shook her head. "What are you talking about? No one here hates you."

I looked at Rom and Ram. "I helped the perverted pedo Trick kidnap them, and did nothing as he 'Healed' them."

"And I sorta webbed you two to the floor and forced you to watch us take away those two." I said. "Honestly? I don't think I still even forgive myself for that, so I find it hard to believe that any of your four could…"

"...Why is that so hard to believe?" Asked Nepgear as I turned to look at her. "You've been living with us for a while now, and you've showed you want to make things right."

"Plus, being webbed in the face isn't as bad to someone's opinion of you as you'd think." Said Uni. "Honestly, I at least trust you have good intentions now."

I looked at Rom and Ram, both looking at me with their own different looks. Rom was a look of mild concern, while Ram was looking at me with mild uneasiness.

"And what about them?" I asked. "While you might be able to forgive and forget? How do you think those two could? I've basically helped TRAUMATISE them."

"...You put your life on the line to save Ms. Nepgear." Rom said, as I looked at her. "You did that for all of us."

"...I doubt I'm going to get much of an answer from you that understanding." I deadpanned at Ram, though it sounded a lot more shaky.

"...I still don't trust you, dummy!" Said Ram.

Rom just tugged on Ram's sleeve.

"But I'll give you one shot only because you tried to save us, no matter how unnecessary it was." Said Ram.

"...I… I don't…" I tried to get words out, but I couldn't find any.

I felt my eyes start watering, as my vision got a bit blurry.

"...Thank you…" I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Though I am wondering what you are even doing here." Said Nepgear. "Your injuries weren't this bad when you passed out after the battle… We heard you went into surgery!"

"...Let's just say that I found myself victim to an attempted black market organ harvesting." I said, looking at the ceiling.

"Wait what!?" Ram asked in shock. "Why you though?"

I looked at the other four candidates and realized that they were never told who I was.

"...You don't know?" I asked, only to get nods in response. "...I'm… I'm a player, apparently."

The candidates in the room quickly looked at me with shock, while Ram quickly traded that look for one of suspicion.

"...That actually makes some sense." Said Nepgear. "For why you were living with us, I mean."

I nodded. "I'd at least think that you'd know…"

"Neptune never brought it up." Said Nepgear.

I just let out a small smile as I looked back at the ceiling.

It was then that the door to the room opened up again, and four more footsteps were made known.

"Jr?" Neptune asked.

"Rom, Ram?" Blanc asked.

"Uni?" Noire continued this line of questions.

"What are you four doing here?" Vert asked.

"We came to see Mr. Bryce." Said Rom.

"Bryce?" Asked Noire as she looked at me, I just turned to look at the four CPUs before turning to look away.

"...Hi…" Was all that came out of my mouth, a frown now on my face. I wasn't mad at them, just.. uncomfortable.

"...Can you four wait outside for us?" Asked Vert as I heard the sound of the candidates leaving the room. The CPUs on the other hand, not so much.

"...I'm surprised you aren't here with guards or something to take me to prison." I said, still not facing them.

"...Can you please look at us?" Asked Vert.

"Yeah, like my composure can handle that." I said, not having bothered wiping the away the tears from before.

"Bryce…" Neptune said.

"Look, I can honestly say that I know Neptune would have been in my favour though that's still JUST Neptune, and I KNOW that 'stunt' I pulled didn't help me much." I said, my tears now openly streaming, though I don't think anyone noticed my sobs though. "I know that Noire probably doesn't like the fact I got my hands, or wrists on another web shooter, not to mention the fact I stole the first two in the first place. Blanc probably still wishes to bash my head in for the kidnapping in Lowee, and I hate Vert for my own personal reasons, so just cut it with the sugar coating and tell me I'm going back to that jail cell…"

I just remained silent as I closed my eyes as I braced myself.

"We… still need to go through the actual meeting. We were distracted with the attempted organ harvesting." Said Vert. "Your room's security is better for now, so you shouldn't have any more incidents like that."

I refused to face them as I heard no sudden movements, before everyone left the room.

I just stared at the ceiling as I silently cried.

* * *

A few hours later, a few guards and a doctor walked into a room, accompanied by a wheelchair.

"We're here to take you to the Goddesses." Said the Doctor, as the Leanbox Guards nodded.

I nodded, as I was helped out of the bed and into the wheelchair.

I was then quickly escorted towards the room that I was SUPPOSED to have been going before. Outside, I saw that Nepgear, Uni, Rom and Ram were waiting outside.

They looked at me as I was wheeled in, and all I could give them was a sad smile of regret, as the door closed behind us.

I was left at a table at the opposite side of the CPUs, who were now in their HDD forms, wearing business attire… for some reason.

Purple Heart looked me in the eyes, as I felt the pressure in my chest start to build.

"Bryce Bridged. We have spent the past few hours going over all we have known about you, and our interactions." Said Purple Heart. "All to come to a conclusion on whether or not to change your current arrangements."

"These talks have not been easy." Said Green Heart. "You've given us a lot of information that puts you on both sides of the scale."

"There have been many times we have come to a conclusion, only to be reminded of another event and be brought back into these talks." Said White Heart.

"However, after much talk, we have come to an agreement." Said Black Heart.

"Bryce Bridged." Purple Heart. "We will be changing your prison arrangement."

These words hit me heavily, I felt the stitches in my chest cut open, as I felt a pain ablaze in my chest.

However, just as Purple Heart uttered these words, the door to the room slammed open!

"You can't send Bryce back to jail!" Nepgear shouted, as the other candidates entered the room along with her.

"Nepgear? Uni? Rom? Ram?" I asked, turning around in my wheelchair as I looked at them in shock. "What…? But… Why are you...?"

I was at a lose of words, here they were, the CPU candidates of Gamindustri, four kids who I honestly though hated me, or at least didn't like me, were now standing up for me in what I could basically call a courtroom.

It sure felt like one, as I swear some Ace Attorney music started playing in my head as a chibi Nepgear stood up behind the defence's desk.

"The defense is ready, your honor." Said Mini-Gear. "I hope…"

The quick daydream flashed back to normal, as the candidates looked at me like I was mildly stupid for asking that.

"Did we not just tell you this a few hours ago?" Asked Uni. "We all trust that you're trying to do good things."

"Mhm…" Rom said.

"He get's one chance from me!" Said Ram as I turned to Nepgear.

"We trust you." Said Nepgear. "We're not going to just let you go to jail without our input."

"...I…" I began, tears back in my eyes. "...I don't know what to say…"

"How about you just let those tears say it for you." Said Purple Heart. "You didn't let us explain the new arrangement.

I turned back to the CPUs, as Purple Heart looked at me with a slight smile on her face.

"We have talked, and have all agreed that while you do need to have some form of punishment, I don't think I'd even call it that." Said Purple Heart.

"The terms are, you'll continue living in Planeptune with Neptune and Nepgear, and you'll help Vert out with her research on Cause and Effect." Said Black Heart.

I looked at Green Heart in uneasy-ness, though the tears in my eyes were betraying me right now.

Green Heart looked down at the table. "I feel… responsible for your being here. And after everything Gamindustri has put you through, I want to make amends."

She looked up at me, determination in her eyes. "I'm hoping that studying what brought you here, could help us find you a way back."

"...And… that's it…?" I asked, looking over the CPUs. "Thats… I'm…?"

At the lack of anything else added on, I felt the tears grow heavy as I just started crying again.

The only difference, was that this time it was tears of joy, and I was surrounded by those I could call family.


	11. Day 91: Three weeks later

_**Day 91**_

It's been three weeks and four days since the change of my sentence. And during those three weeks, things have been going… rather well actually.

Honestly, working for Vert with the research on Causality isn't as bad of a thing as I thought it'd be. Part of that may be because Vert isn't normally there, that's left to the R&D team working on said project.

And let me tell you, the first time they met me, they were ecstatic about finding a candidate that could actually do things with their gauntlet activated. Though I still felt a bit awkward since I was working with people I had stolen from.

That said, I didn't start work until about day 68, since the doctors and nurses at the Leanbox Hospital wanted to make sure I was fine before they discharged me.

Of course that isn't the only change that's made it's appearance known…

"Whoa!" Neptune shouted, as I sat on the sofa behind said CPU who had just fallen onto her Bean Bag Chair. "That was close… almost didn't make it there."

She was currently gaming away to some weird rpg game that had a battle system VERY similar to the one found the Neptunia series, and other Idea Factory IPs, like Fairy Fencer F. The art style wasn't really like how said games looked, choosing a more Chibi like approach to it.

Honestly, I wasn't really impressed.

"I'm bored!" Said a voice from our left, as I turned to give a passive gaze at Peashy.

See, Peashy had also started living in the Basilicom about three weeks ago. Which of course, meant that I had gotten to know the wasp while I spent most of my time here. Why do I call her a wasp?

"Play with me Neptuna!" Exclaimed Peashy, as she huffed at Neptune. "I'll bug you!"

Yeah, I think my answer explains itself.

I honestly don't have much of an issue with Peashy, it's just that she gives off the same vibe my younger brother does, that of a kid who won't leave you alone. This is also one of the reasons my room now has a key lock on the door. Don't ask for the other reasons, I know you perverts can guess yourself.

"Look, P-ko, we've been over this. My name's not 'Neptuna', it's Neptune, okay?" Neptune said. "Learn it, Live it, Love it."

"I think I'm still having trouble with steps two through three." I said, rolling my eyes.

"You shut it, mister!" Neptune said absentmindedly at me, as I shock my head with a slight smile on my face.

"Neptuna, Neptuna!" Peashy screamed out in a fit of attention hogging.

Neptune let out a battle cry of sorts as she furiously started to mash buttons, I let out a chuckle as I watched with amusement at Neptune's misery. It's fun not being on the receiving end of this.

Peashy just puffed her cheeks, before grabbing the cable to Neptune's game console and proceeded to cut it in half. I blinked, therefor I don't know how she did such a feet.

"Aw dude!" Neptune whined, looking back at Peashy, missing the slight smile on my face as I awaited the carnage. "If you do that it'll corrupt my save file."

Neptune crawled over to the power bar that had all the cables to each console in her possession plugged in. She took a moment to look at the cable that was supposed to have been unplugged in confusion.

"Huh?" Neptune turned to look at Peashy, only to see the small girl give a triumphant grin, as she held up the cable to the console, the cable having the wire cut.

Neptune rushed over to her console, picking it up to confirm what Peashy had just done.

"Ah!" Neptune let out a scream of displeasure, as Peashy just smiled all the same.

"Now you have to play with me!" Peashy said, tossing the cable aside as she threw herself at Neptune, the small girl easily knocking the CPU off her feet, probably knocking the wind out of her as well.

I quickly dived for the console grabbing it before any real damage could occur. I sighed, picking it up and moving it away from the angry goddess and the gleeful wasp.

I walked over to IF, Compa and Histoire as they had their drinks watching the events unfold.

"That's so cute, those two are best buds, aren't they?" Asked Compa, as I had a seat beside them, placing the console on the ground.

"You think so?" IF asked. "Neptune looks more like a punching bag to me."

"I can confirm this." I said, sitting down as they turned their attention to me. "Plus, it's not just Neptune, it's also Neptune's stuff that's taken a hit."

"I can see that." Said IF, gesturing to the console on the floor beside me.

"No, I mean some of the OTHER stuff." I said, waving my right hand subtly. "Just three days ago, she put an entire Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich in the VCR!"

"Wait, you guys have a VCR?" Asked IF.

"Had. We HAD, a VCR." I clarified, sighing as I leaned back.

"Hey Histoire?" IF deviated from the current topic. "Have we still not found that girl's guardian?"

"Afraid not. And it's already been three weeks too." Said Histoire, as I nodded along. "Are you certain we don't have any leads at all?"

"We're totally clueless." Said Compa.

"Which is odd, seeing that she sees to know who Compa and I are." IF said, as I just felt a small smile form on my face, unnoticed by everyone. Ah… Re;Birth 3… and Victory I guess, what wonderful games you were.

"The way it's going, you make it sound like we're lucky to even know her name." Said Histoire.

"Well that, was written on her underwear and we're pretty sure that wasn't the brand name." Said Compa.

"Yeah, I don't want to know the story behind this discovery." I said, crossing my arms. I had been working in Leanbox, so I missed this certain event. I'm actually rather happy about that to be honest.

I returned my attention to Neptune and Peashy, as they continued their game of tag.

"I got you know!" Neptune exclaimed, as she grabbed Peashy and started to do what looked to be a suplex, before Peashy smirked in victory.

"Pea-Punch!" Peashy turned around, delivering one of the strongest punches I've ever seen IRL, as Neptune flew a few feet into the air, before crashing onto the ground.

I walked over to the CPU, as she lay on the ground.

"Wow, it's really weird being on the other side of this, huh?" I said, smirking at Neptune, only to be quickly tackled by Peashy as I hit the floor. "This… changes… nothing!"

* * *

"Uh…" IF scratched her cheek as She, Compa and I stood watching the scene in front of us, that of Nepgear basically having her face pressed in Vert's boobs in a state of 'sisterly love'. "I'm not exactly sure what I walked into…"

"I think she's trying to level her lily rank!" Compa said.

I just facepalmed, letting out a sigh of WTF am I doing here again? As I looked at the scene in front of me.

Suddenly, the doors behind us opened up, and Neptune walked out.

"Gosh darn it, Vert!" Neptune exclaimed. "Boobie time is over! She's my sister!"

"Wow, okay. THOSE are some words I never thought I'd ever actually here in my lifetime…" I said, crossing my arms.

Nepgear and Vert separated, as they had blushes on their faces as they looked at Neptune in shock.

"Oh, I was just…!" Nepgear tried to say, before laying her face back in between the twin peaks of leanbox, Vert twitching all the while. "Hah…"

"We're all friends now aren't we? What's the harm in spending some time together?" Vert said.

"You know, I understand that you guys are goddesses and I'm not supposed to ask, but with you I don't think I have to." I said, deadpanning at Vert.

"Geuh… You want all that sweet Nep to yourself, but she's my and don't you forget it buddy!" Neptune said, sounding actually threatening at the end of that, as chills went up my spine.

'Okay, now if that's how scared human form Neptune can make me, I am officially TERRIFIED of what "Madam Goddess" could just say to make me piss myself.' I thought to myself, taking an unconscious step away from Neptune.

"There there, Neptune's just jealous of what we have…" Vert said, as I felt my eye twitch. "But don't worry, give her some time and I'm sure she'll come around.

"Excuse me, Kettle? Mister pot called, he says you're black!" I shouted, gaining a disapproving face as I walked up next to Neptune.

"Why did he join in this?" Asked IF, sighing as she awaited what was probably going to end up becoming carnage.

Vert turned to look at us. "By the way, the real truth is I'm here for you." She said, looking at Neptune.

"Are, you trying to make a sister sandwich?" Asked Neptune. "Oh my how lewd~."

I felt my eye twitch as I watched Neptune squirm around.

"...Anyways…" I said, looking at Vert. "What's going on?"

"That wasn't the plan?" Said Vert. "I thought Blanc already contacted you."

"Do you honestly think NEPTUNE would check her emails? For something that WASN'T game related?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh did she?" Asked Neptune, stopping her squirming.

"God dammit Neptune…" I said, facepalming.

* * *

"Unbelievable…" Said Noire, as we stood in a semicircle around her. "I've come to expect a certain level of jackassery from you, but this is over the limit."

"Yeah, so funny story…" Neptune began, rubbing the back of her head. "P-ko decided to throw a mid-air temper tantrum and so I lost my transformation and fell."

"I don't know what's worse, the fact that this actually happened or a tiny child was able to punch you out of HDD." I said, shaking my head. "I mean, how does that even work!?"

"How typically clownish." Said Noire.

"We're really sorry." Said Nepgear.

"Oh P-ko, introduce yourself!" Said Neptune.

Nepgear placed Peashy on the ground as the small girl put her arms on her hips in an attempt to look epic.

"Call me Pea!" Said Peashy.

"Wow Neptune, you have a child already?" Asked Blanc.

"It's crazy I know! But she's my little girl and I just love her to bits!" Said Neptune, as she rubbed her cheek on Peashy's.

I looked around to see most of the people in the room having their attention on me know.

I just gave a look of confusion, before realizing what the looks were for and quickly gained a red face. "Oh don't you give me those looks!"

Neptune looked at my red face before realizing what was happening, as she put an arm around my neck, bringing me down closer to the floor.

"Gak!" I let out a cough of shock as I was forced into a kneeling position.

"Brycey here sure has helped a lot!" Said Neptune, as the ones who understood grade 9 health turned and looked at me with mild shock.

"Can we not!?" I exclaimed, very embarrassed now.

"I'm just joking!" Neptune said, letting me go suddenly, as I let out a 'Woah!' as I fell backwards. "P-ko's a lost kid and we're taking care of her at my place."

"I was making a joke." Said Blanc.

"Well you guys sure took it like it wasn't a joke…" I said, pushing myself off the ground, a faint blush still on my face.

"Rom, Ram, play nice with the little urchin." Said Blanc.

"Kay!" Said Ram.

"You wanna play with us?" Asked Rom, as Peashy nodded.

"You bet I do!" Said Peashy, her hands raised in the air.

"That goes double for you Peashy." I said, as the small child looked at me. "You got Neptune, save your slight violence for the punching bag."

"Hey!" Neptune said in rebuttal, slapping my shoulder as I just smirked and pushed her hand away.

"I was joking!" I said, rubbing my shoulder. "I really need to work on my pain tolerance…"

The three small girls chased after Uni's Bandicoot as Blanc started speaking again.

"Now, back to the subject at hand." Said Blanc.

Noire sighed. "We should really take this somewhere else. Uni, I'm leaving you in charge while I'm out."

Uni gave a quick nod of understanding, before the CPU's, plus me, as I was following behind them, walked over to the elevator.

"Wait… why is Bryce following us?" Asked Noire, as she turned to look at me.

"What? Am I not allowed to come along?" I asked, giving a 'I dunno' shrug.

"Last time I checked, the last time you were in lastation you stole from me." Said Noire.

"Oh come on!" I said, raising my arms in the air, showing off the web shooters attached to my arms. "Did we not already establish that we were all buddy buddy now? Hell, you gave these ones to me about a week ago!"

"It is CPU business." Said Vert.

"Yeah, and I'm the guy from another dimension." I said. "Look, I'll sit in a corner silent the entire time if you want me to, I don't care."

* * *

So here I was, sitting the corner, quite as I said I would be, as I watched Neptune laugh her *ss off.

"What the hell's so funny anyways?" Asked Noire. "I must have missed the joke."

"Oh come on! You were all bragging about it, remember?" Asked Neptune, before pointing up at the ceiling with her finger. "Lastation's security is the awesomest in the whole world! Then, derp, you got hacked. Too funny!"

I snorted a bit, realizing the backdoor I installed earlier probably played a part in this 'hack'.

"Hardly any point crying over spilt milk." Said Blanc. "Just make sure it never happens again, simple."

"No, I'm going to find out who did this and tear them limb from limb." Said Noire.

"...Does anyone else suddenly feel very cold and unwelcome? No just me? Okay." I said mainly to myself, as the CPUs looked at me for a second.

"Uh oh, Noire's in rage mode." Said Neptune.

"Conveniently, I summoned someone to deal with this very situation." Said Vert, as I raised my eyebrow at this. "You can come in now!"

The door across from us opened up, as a girl in a grey business suit walked into the room, a hair clip on her head looking almost identical to the Microsoft Windows 7 logo.

"This is setag." Said Vert. "Ultra genius programmer, and pride of leanbox."

"Ms. Setag? Who was that again?" Asked Blanc.

"She was made for the anime!" Neptune said, as I suddenly started choking on something, like the world was physically against the now non-existent fourth wall breaks.

"Indeed, I am a new character, bing. I'll worm my way into your heart, bing." Said Setag.

"...F*cking windows seven!" I muttered to myself as I felt another choking fit come on.

"Bing? What?" Blanc said.

"Her catchphrase thing is totally lame!" Said Neptune. "Man this character is gonna bomb with the fans."

"Don't worry, I am a one off character made just for this scene, bing." Said Setag.

I let out a large cough, as everyone turned to face me.

"PLEASE STOP WITH THE FOURTH WALL. I AM LITERALLY DYING HERE!" I said, coughing after every two words.

Noire turned back to Setag, as things went back on track.

"Whoever you are, think you can track down the hacker or not?" Asked Noire.

Setag pulled out a laptop from freaking nowhere, before she started typing.

"Of course, leave it to me, bing." Said Setag, as she started typing away.

The CPUs not native to lastation looked on in awe, as I just sat and watched as Blanc's hat fell off her head.

* * *

I was currently web swinging through the city, as the CPUs had transformed and left me with Setag, while they went to most likely visit Anonydeath.

"If I remembered where he was…" I muttered, before finding the building that Anonydeath, Linda and I had used while planning for the Lastation Heist. "There we are…"

I landed down, firing some stray webbing behind me to slow my descent.

As I landed, I looked up to see the CPUs touch down almost immediately after.

"Bryce? How did you get here before us?" Asked Purple Heart as the CPUs returned to their human forms.

"Uh… Because I know how to chain momentum?" I said, shrugging. 'That, and I also knew where this place was, so… there's that.'

"That's great and all, but why are you here?" Asked Noire.

"What? You think I'm not going to try and help out?" I asked. "I'm trying to make myself not look like an asshole, so helping you out with this issue should help with that."

Neptune just shrugged, before pointing to the sky, not really listening to me.

"Okay! Let's meet the bad guy!" Neptune exclaimed, as I face palmed while Noire freaked out.

"What the heck is wrong with you!? If he hears you yelling he might run away!" Said Noire.

"*Cough*DoubtIt*Cough*" I coughed out.

"Hold up there, are you really the right person to say that?" Asked Neptune.

"I don't see why she isn't." I said, crossing my arms.

"Whose side are you on?" Asked Neptune, putting her hands on her hips as she turned to look at me with suspicious eyes.

"Whichever side gets me the most brownie points." I said, shrugging. "Now come on, let's get in there."

We had soon infiltrated the building. I was currently following behind the CPUs in a familiar cardboard box I had found lying around.

We had soon reached an opening to a room with just enough of a crack to see Anonydeath on the other side.

The door was quickly slammed open, as the four CPUs held their weapons out towards Anonydeath, ready for a fight, while I sat underneath the cardboard box, solid snake-ing.

"Don't you move an inch!" Said Noire. "Hands in the air, and turn around and face me slowly!"

Anonydeath complied, slowly raising his arms before turning around to face us with the help of his swivel chair.

"Fess up! You're the hacker, now aren't you!?" Noire asked.

Anonydeath just let out a breath, as some parts of his helmet opened up to let the air out.

"Answer me or I'll cut you!" Threatened Noire.

Anonydeath suddenly stood up, squirming around sorta like how Neptune did earlier today.

"Aww, don't talk like we're strangers sister!" Anonydeath said, as I stood up, tossing the box away.

The CPUs stared at Anonydeath in shock, while I just had a smug grin on my face at this whole thing.

"Just call me annie, kay girlfriend?" Anonydeath said, as Neptune did a literal faceplant.

"Nep-WHAT!?" Neptune exclaimed, getting up onto her knees. "A flaming robot!? But you look so manly!?"

"Don't question him Neptune… I learned it's not worth it a while ago." I said, looking at Anonydeath.

"My metal gear may be solid snake, but my heart is as maidly as they come!" Said Anonydeath.

"Oh wow, he's a walking stereotype." Said Blanc.

"And I'd imagine he has a bit of a foul mouth too." Said Vert.

"Guilty as charged sweety! I thought you were all boobs and no brains, but maybe not!" Anonydeath said.

"Wow, is it me, or did he get more flamboyant while I was gone…?" I mumbled to myself.

"Listen, your gender identity is Irrelevant here. Are you the hacker or not? Just spit it out!" Noire said.

Anonydeath just started laughing at this, while Noire just got more annoyed. "What's so funny!?"

"You're even cuter in real life noire, I could just eat you up." Said Anonydeath, his visor gaining a red tint.

"Huh? Wait, is that supposed to be flattery or a threat?" Asked Noire.

"Knowing him, probably both." I said.

"I may be queer, but let me lay it straight." Said Anonydeath, as I snorted in laughter. "I'm hot for you."

Anonydeath snapped his fingers, as a bunch of images of Noire popped up around us.

"I'm a voyeur honey, so sue me!" Anonydeath said, arms raised in the air.

Noire looked at the photos in shock, before letting out a scream.

Neptune quickly joined in, letting out a scream of her own.

"Look, that's Noire! And that's Noire too!" Said Neptune, pointing at the different images. "There all Noire!"

"We can see that Neptune." I said, rolling my neck. "I'm surprised, could've sworn your collection was bigger the last time I saw you."

"You know him!?" Asked Noire.

"Uh, yeah. He was one of my Higher Ups in ASIC, as well as the guy who primarily planned out the Lastation heist." I said. "Wait, I should probably not bring that up. Forget I said that last part."

"I'm like your biggest fan Noire, I just wanted to see more of you that's all! It was an impulse crime!" Said Anonydeath, knocking his fists on his helmet.

"I couldn't care less about your stupid photos, I'm mad because you hacked my system-!" Noire began, but was cut off by Anonydeath.

"You really don't care, not even about these?" Anonydeath asked, as I quickly pulled my phone out and turned its camera on, pressing the record button as I watched the magic happen.

Anonydeath snapped his fingers, as some of the photos changed to Noire making cosplay outfits.

It took a second for Noire to realize what had just happened, as when it did, she just let loose another scream.

"Noire's sowing like somebody's mom!" Said Neptune.

"It does seem rather uncharacteristic…" Said Blanc.

Noire recomposed herself, barely, as she began to speak again.

"Well my secret is out, deep down I'm just like an old house wife…" Noire said, trying to keep her dignity intact.

"I feel like I've seen that outfit before." Said Vert, pointing to one of the photos.

"You've got some imagination you crazy goddess you." Said Noire, before turning to Anonydeath. "Anyway like I told you, that's not why I'm here!"

"I'm surprised the others haven't figured it out yet." I said, causing Noire to look at me and see the smug look on my face. "Oh look, more photos."

As soon as I said the words, Anonydeath snapped, as if we had planned this, we didn't BTW, as the remaining images not made up of Noire making cosplay outfits were changed to the above depiction.

Noire instantly snapped, as she just started screaming. Screams that didn't seem to have an end. I just stood there recording the whole thing, a smile on my face.

This will be great to laugh at with Neptune later…

"Whoa… Check it ou!" Said Neptune.

"Upon inspection, they're cosplay." Said Blanc.

"So that was a four goddesses online costume, so that's why I recognized it." Said Vert.

"Stop Looking!" Noire got out, as she continued her spree of being mortified.

"O. M. G! You're totally cute when you flip out." Said Anonydeath, before holding out a camera and taking a shot. "Exclusive!"

"That! Is enough!" Noire Exclaimed, a blush on her face but emitting a murderous aura that matches the one that Blanc pulls off. I took a few steps away from Noire as no longer felt safe next to her. "You big…! Metal… Turd Box! I am going to throw you in jail!"

"My goodness! What language!" Anonydeath said. "Well you can arrest me, but just so you know if I leave here, all of the photos will be automatically published online."

"What!?" Noire gasped.

"See, that, I was expecting." I said.

"See, at first I was going to keep them all to myself, but then I got to thinking how fun it would be if I plastered the whole world with your cute little cosplay selfies." Anonydeath said.

Noire just started to shake in anger and embarrassment.

"This is quite the dilemma." Said Vert. "If such compromising photos were to be published…"

"She'd be to embarrassed to show her face." Finished Blanc.

"No it's cool, yo... She looks cute, so no prob…" Neptune said uneasily.

"You need acting lessons." Said Vert.

"I can help with that." I said, off to the side, away from the splash zone that was Noire and Anonydeath.

"You know what!? Fine!" Noire exploded in anger, as I suddenly wished I had my cardboard box again. "All it will cost you, is your life!"

Noire jumped into the air, transforming into Black Heart, as she swung her sword down at Anonydeath.

"Heaven or Hell… Let's rock!" Anonydeath shouted, sending the images over at Black Heart.

"No creep!" Black Heart shouted, slicing through the oncoming projectiles.

I side stepped over to Neptune, Blanc and Vert.

"Hey, does anyone else fear their well being right now?" I asked.

"Uah…! They're coming from above!" Neptune shouted, as some of the Images started attacking us.

"Oh come on!" I shouted, web zipping away as the photos just focused on the CPUs. "Okay, that's better.

"It's been fun sweet heart, and don't worry, I was lying about publishing the pics." Said Anonydeath, as the CPUs fought the photos. "Oh and Bryce, I sent you a package, think of it as a good job not rotting in jail gift. Tootles!"

Anonydeath escaped through a secret doorway, as the CPUs dealt with the rest of the photos.

"Bryce, where'd he go!?" Asked Black Heart, as I just pointed at the secret door.

What soon followed was an explosion, and Anonydeath giving up. Anticlimactic I know, but still.

I stood next to Neptune as we watched the Lastation Police Department take Anonydeath away.

"This is lovely, but he never did admit to the hacking." Said Blanc.

"Well as long as he's locked up that's no longer a concern." Said Vert. "Besides, Noire has more pressing matters on her mind."

"Don't look." Noire said to the candidates. "You didn't see did you?"

"Oh no, we saw something but-" Uni began, but was quickly cut off.

"I saw! I saw everything!" Said Ram, as the candidates and Noire looked at Ram in shock.

"So what's cosplay? Looks fun." Asked Rom, as Noire returned to her embarrassment induced screams.

"What are you guys even doing here!? It's like you came by just to laugh at me!" Noire exclaimed.

I smiled at the scene in front of us, before looking over at Neptune only to find her walking towards Peashy, said girl was sitting against a nearby wall.

"Hey P-ko!" Neptune said, as Peashy looked up at the CPU.

"Tada!" Neptune said, holding out a cup of pudding. "You want some pudding? I snuck it here in my pocket."

"You bet! I'm super hungry!" Said Peashy.

"Kay! But you have to share it with me!" Said Neptune.

"Kay! Half for me and half for you!" Peashy said, a smile on her face.

I watched the scene with a smile on my face before my brain started thinking.

"...What did Anonydeath mean by Package?" I asked myself. "...Eh, I'll find out when I get pack to Planeptune I guess."

I let out a sigh, as I looked a the two groups doing there thing as I felt myself feeling left out again.

I closed my eyes. It seemed I wasn't there yet… Oh well… I'll eventually make my place here.

...Did I even want that?

I paused, as I realized that I was getting used to this world. I thought I wanted to go home but… Why am I suddenly feeling all, okay with staying here?

I shook my head. No, I need to go home… This world… It's not mine, and I don't think anything can make that change…

* * *

We were back at Lastation's Basilicom, when an explosion grabbed our attention.

"Uh oh! That sounds like bad news!" Said Neptune as Vert, Blanc, Neptune and I ran outside, finding Uni standing there out of it, and a girl in a greenish blue night dress sitting on top of Noire. "Nep-wiggity, what?"

"Ow that hurt…!" Said the girl as I suddenly felt a sense of dread roll down my back.

"Who are you?" Asked Neptune.

"Oh? Who am I?" The girl asked, as she stood up off Noire. "Call me Plutia, it's nice to meet all of you!"

"I'm from Planeptune by the way." Said Plutia. "I'm the goddess there."

Everyone else around me stood silent at this news while I just made inner peace with myself now that I realized Plutia was among us.

Goddess help me.


	12. Day 92-93: Kidnappings are NOT fun

"One… My name is Plutia, it's nice to meet you." Said the Other-dimensional CPU as I felt myself pushed back as far as I could in my chair, sitting across from Plutia, while everyone else just giggled and laughed. I gave a nervous laugh while following along, I was flying into the danger zone right now, I'm surprised I haven't broken down yet.

"I'd take a minute to propose a toast to Plu-Plu," Said Compa, as I felt my breath hitch as I tried to contain a snort, IF giving me a side look while I did this. "Planeptune's lovely new CPU-"

"Woah woah woah, hold up!" Neptune said, still holding up her wine glass. "You're making it sound like Plutie here stole my whole country out from under me."

"It wasn't like you weren't doing anything to really prove your title to begin with…" I said, deadpanning.

"Zip it mister!" Neptune said, pointing at me, while I just gave tilted my head upwards, my eyes widening as my mouth formed into a frown, while my whole face stood rigid. It was if my face looked like I had just been told something horrible, and my reaction was that of recoiling as far back as I could, but only my head could have moved.

"No, not like that at all, it's just that she's a planeptune CPU too." Said Compa.

"Yeah, but not THIS Planeptune, she's a CPU of a completely DIFFERENT One." Said Neptune, pointing her finger in a lazy way that somehow still held all the seriousness of a full on point. "And don't you forget it."

"I think what she's trying to say is, Plutia comes from another dimension, one with their very own Planeptune." Said Nepgear.

"I must admit, it is a bit difficult to know how to react to a casual declaration of a different dimension." Said HIstoire.

"Uh, hello? Guy from another dimension also sitting right here?" I said, waving my right hand in the air. "I mean, yeah my declaration WASN'T exactly casual, but still!"

IF just shook her head as I muttered how when I was found to be from another dimension I was thrown in jail, but this girl gets off scot free. Also something about sexism, apparently.

"So I take it you can transform to?" Asked IF, as I felt a chill go down my spine.

"Eugh…" I said, visibly shaking. "Sorry, I think I just felt hell freeze over, continue."

"Yes I can… But uh, everybody tells me I shouldn't go around doing it." Said Plutia.

"I shall now take this moment to thank the other goddesses of the ultradimension for this great feat." I muttered, subtly bringing a fist next to my face and clenching it. Sort of in a 'Yes!' kind of way.

"Not unless I have to that is."

I spoke too soon.

"Yeah, why's that?" Asked Neptune.

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying desperately not to blurt out about Sadie, I think IF may have noticed, but didn't pay any mind to.

"I wonder…" Plutia said to herself as I drowned out the sound of Neptune and Peashy getting into a fight about food, only to be drawn back in by the sound of Neptune screaming.

"Daah!" Neptune shouted, her face blue as a cooked eggplant was shoved into her face. "Get it away from me! I hate eggplants! They're super groudy!"

"Come on, I cooked today, give it a chance." Said IF. "And they're pretty tasty if I do say so myself."

I looked down on my plate, having not touched anything on it really. Let it be said that I'm a picky eater. My diet back home consisted of basically Pizza and Pasta, I think I also substituted Water with Milk and Mountain Dew, so there's that. Yeah, I wasn't the most healthy person alive.

"No way no how no thank you." Said Neptune. "Just the smell alone sucks all the strength out of my body."

I felt my attention be snapped to the window, as IF looked at me.

"...I feel a disturbance." I said, making my voice sound like one of those 'This summer…' guys, or honest trailer voice guy, yeah him. "It was like someone really stupid made an equally stupid decision right now."

"RIGHT… and I noticed you haven't touched anything Bryce." IF said, as I looked back at her.

"Sorry… Not exactly hungry right now." I said, giving an apologetic smile, going back to my normal voice.

"See, even Bryce agrees with me!" Said Neptune.

"How did this make me say I'm agreeing with you!?" I asked, looking at Neptune.

"Nep, you're wrong about him." Said IF.

"Thank you-"

"He's worse." Said IF.

"Oh come on!" I said, my arms shooting into the air as I grabbed my hair in frustration.

"Excluding Bryce for a second, Neptune you're setting a bad example to your citizens by being a picky eater- abababababababababa-"

We turned to see Histoire vibrating and stuttering uncontrollably.

"Miss Histoire! Are you okay?" Asked IF, as she stood up.

"No wait, let it go to voicemail!" I said, putting my hand in front of IF.

"Histoire isn't a telephone." IF deadpanned to me, as I shrugged.

I sat for a moment, before sighing.

"Yeah, when Histoire gets everything all thought out, let me know." I said, walking off.

I walked over to my room, opening the door to look at the interior.

It wasn't much, just a bed, a rather large one at that, a dresser, a bookshelf, and a desk. The room was a dark shade of Purple, and most of the room kept the same colour theme.

Then again, I honestly wasn't expecting much. At this point, I'm lucky I still got my hands on my phone and my headphones.

I sighed, flopping onto my bed. Really wish I at least had my laptop, then I could open up the USB and pull out the RPG I was working on.

"Well, eventually I guess." I said to myself. "Besides, not much of a reason to complete it while I'm here. It's not like anyone knows of the whole base for the thing anyways…"

"...I don't want to be this alone…" I muttered to myself, as I pulled the bedsheets over me, as I curled up into a ball, completely covered by the comforter. It was about as comforting as It normally was.

It really just made me think on how alone I really was here.

* * *

"So like she said, please report it as soon as possible." Said Histoire.

The only thing to really be noted was that both Plutia and Neptune weren't paying attention the former busy making what I would guess to be plushies, and the latter just playing more of her video game.

Where was I? Listening through the door of my room.

I was giving myself some time to think, since even though I've had an abundant amount of time for that, I still felt it was necessary.

"...I just realized something." I said to myself, as I stood up and realized something that I had forgotten about after I returned from Lastation, the impending doom of Plutia taking my focus at the moment.

"...What did Anonydeath mean by gift?" I asked myself, before the sound of someone knocking at my door brought my attention to the fact I wasn't wearing a shirt. "One second!"

I quickly threw a hoodie on, as I opened the door to see IF looking at me.

"Come on, we're going on patrol." Said IF.

"...Uh… why exactly?" I raised an eyebrow at this.

"Histoire wants us to keep an eye on anything weird or strange going on, so I volunteered for you and I to go on patrol." Said IF.

"Of course you did." I muttered to myself.

"What was that?"

"Sorry! Not a morning person!" I said, raising my hands up.

"It's 10 AM!"

"Again, not a morning person!" I repeated like it was obvious.

"Anyways, we need to drop Compa off at work, so let's get a move on." Said IF as I sighed, moving over to grab my Kimber Warrior off my night table, loading a fresh magazine just in case.

"Give me a second to get myself ready and I'll be out." I said, as IF nodded and closed the door.

I sighed, looking down at the gun in my hand, before strapping it to the holster attached to my leg.

"Let's go." I said, replacing the hoodie for a fresh purple T-shirt as I grabbed my black overcoat on my way out.

I walked up next to IF and Compa in the elevator as we descended to the garage level of the basilicom.

"Ah! Miss IF!" Said a guard as we walked over to him. "Is this one Bryce Bridged? He had a package delivered here, for some odd reason."

"Me?" I asked, as the two girls looked at me. I shrugged, not having any idea on what the guard was talking about.

"We've parked it next to Miss IF's bike." Said the guard as we looked to find the same go-kart I had stol-appropriated during my escape from Lowee.

"Isn't that?" Asked IF as she looked at me.

"Yep." I said, popping the P as I sat down in the driver seat, finding everything was still in place. "...So that's what he meant…"

"Hm?" Compa looked at me in confusion.

"Anonydeath said he sent me a 'gift' when the goddesses apprehended him." I said, running a hand along the steering wheel. "I guess this is what he was referring to."

I rubbed my left hand, as I looked over at IF.

"Well, at least there's room on your bike now." I said, as I started the go-kart. "Shall we?"

* * *

As I drove behind IF, following the guild agent while getting a hang of the controls of the kart, we kept running into areas that were 'under construction'.

We finally stopped at what I counted as the fifth.

"There's a lot of construction today for some reason." Said IF, as I slowly pulled up next to them.

"It's actually rather concerning." I said, feeling uneasy. I was forgetting something important, and I forget what IT was.

"You're not wrong." IF said, before looking at Compa apologetically. "Sorry we're running late."

"That's okay Iffy. I'm with you, so I'm having fun no matter what's going on." Said Compa.

I felt my hand grip the steering wheel a bit as we started back up again.

"Oh yeah?" IF asked as she started up again and I put my foot on the gas as I followed.

We crossed another construction detour, and it was then that I remembered why I was on edge.

"What's going on!?" IF asked as we drove into what appeared to be purple smoke.

I suddenly felt myself swerve to the right, firing a web strand behind me as I jumped out of the go-kart, barely avoiding IF as she slowed to a halt. The go-kart on the other hand, slammed into a building.

I ran up to IF and Compa, before I started feeling my strength start to fade.

"Oh great…" I muttered to myself, as I saw IF and Compa try to hold their breath as I felt the smoke enter my lungs.

I let out a cough, as I collapsed a few feet away from IF and Compa, my vision becoming blurry as I saw two people in black cloaks walk up to us, before I passed out.

* * *

"Ugh…" I groaned out as I felt my eyes flutter open, as I found myself tied to a chair, dangling over a pool of what I assumed to be water.

"Oh god dammit…" I said to myself, looking down to find that the chair was weighted, but if the rope above me was cut, I'd be drowning in seconds. "Of course THIS happens to me…"

I looked around me, only to feel the rope holding me above the water start to lower me closer.

I snapped my head up, finding that the rope was slowly breaking.

"...I'm going to die…" I said to myself, a bead of sweat running down my forehead, as a few moments later, I felt myself drop.

Only for someone to grab the rope at the last second.

"Good, I have my plan B." I looked to my right to see Arfoire holding the rope in some weird transformated state.

"Oh, it's you…" I said, displeasure clearly visible in my voice. "Glad to know my life is a god damn bargaining chip. At least it isn't the worst thing it's been."

"Shut it boy!" Arfoire shouted at me, as I felt the chair turn to face her, only to get a slap to the face.

"Ahh!" I moaned out in pain, as moved my jaw around, feeling the bones in my jaw click as I moved it around.

"What's this? More hostages? And here I thought I had already made my point to you." A female voice said as I felt a chill go up my spine.

"Get any closer and I drop him into the lake." Said Arfoire, as I felt myself spin around in my chair to see Iris Heart floating a good few meters away from Arfoire and myself.

"...Is anyone else terrified? Because I think I can safely say that 'terrified' is an understatement for me right now." I said, as I felt both relieved at the arrival of Iris Heart, and horrified at the arrival of Iris Heart.

"Bryce!" I looked to Iris Heart's right to see Purple Heart fly up next to her.

"Oh hi Neptune! Fancy seeing you here!" I said, laughing. Though to anyone else it came off as complete terror.

"Let him go." Said Purple Heart.

"Poor choice of words there!" I said, only to feel Arfoire's grip on the rope slightly slip, electing a not so manly scream out of me as I started breathing a lot harder than I was seconds earlier.

"I couldn't agree more." Said Arfoire, as she got a better grasp of the rope. "Here's how this is gonna work. You're going to let me and my hostage go, and I don't drop him into the lake to drown."

Purple Heart looked at me seriously for a second.

"Do you trust me?" She asked.

I gave a shaky nod, before I saw her rush forward, cutting the rope keeping my in the air.

Everything seemed to slow down at that moment, as I saw Iris Heart grin as she charged straight at Arfoire, said witch looking down at me with anger, before back up to Iris Heart in fear as I saw what was basically the equivalent of a sky tackle, before seeing Purple Heart dive bomb after me.

Then everything picked back up, as the high speed winds blew past my ears, as I suddenly felt myself slam into pavement, before feeling myself get covered by concrete, as I slowly drifted into the water, as my lungs which had the air knocked out of them were now getting filled up by water, only to see a hand reach out to me, as everything faded to black from the pain.

* * *

The next thing I knew, I was coughing my lungs out, as I let out large gasps of breath as I felt myself shake as I shakily stared at the solid ground that I was now kneeling over.

I felt a hand rub my back as I fell onto my side as I huddled into myself, both from a mix of freezing and in an attempt to calm myself down.

"Are you alright?" Asked Purple Heart, as I felt her arms worm around me as she sat me up, helping me warm up.

"...I thought I was going to die…" I said, as I felt tears start to form around my eyes. "...It was… worse than being stuck in the causality freeze."

"I'm here…" She said, as I felt myself just nod and tried calming down.

After a few minutes of this, I finally felt calm enough to stand up, even if it was a bit shaky.

"We should head back." Said Purple Heart, as I nodded, only to feel myself get picked up and put on her back, as she flew back to the Basilicom.

Soon, we had arrived, and found Plutia was now no longer in her CPU form, and that Histoire was talking with IF making sure she was alright.

When we entered the room, the attention turned to me and Neptune, as they looked at me in worry.

"Bryce-!" IF tried to speak, but stopped as I just stared at the floor as I walked over to my room and just closed the door behind me.

I opened the nearby bathroom door and pulled on more dry clothes as I grabbed a nearby blanket from my bed as I just curled into a ball on the top of my bed, a far off look in my eyes.

I heard the sound of people eating food and all, but something about it was off, like everyone had something else on their mind, and it was bringing everything else down with it.

I finally heard the door open as the sound of conjoint foot steps made multiple presences known.

"Bryce…?" Asked Histoire. "...Are you feeling any better?"

No, I wasn't. I was shaking.

I had experienced so many chances where I could have died in this world, and this one had been the most scarring to me.

I wasn't fine, and this many people weren't helping.

The number of people in the room slowly diminished, until there was only one left.

"...Bryce?" Neptune finally asked.

"...Why?" I asked, my voice shaking in fear as if I was going to re-experience the same thing over again in a few seconds if I let my guard down. "...Why do I have to go through all this? Why am I the one who needs to be forced to the edge?"

"...I'm here right now." Said Neptune as I felt a hand on my shoulder, which only served to make my shaking worse.

"...You said to trust you… and then the next thing I realized, I was three feet deep in a lake, and I was drowning…" I said, tears falling from my face. "...I don't know what to feel right now other than fear…"

I felt a weight press down on the bed, as Neptune wrapped her arms around my prone form..

"...Don't worry about anything. The main character is here to keep you safe now." She said, almost in a motherly manner.

I felt myself let out a sad laugh. "...What's with the OOC-ness?" I asked. "The Neptune I know is a lazy girl who's a picky eater, who has an addiction to video games and loves to tease everyone."

"What's with the OOC-ness yourself?" Asked Neptune, giggling. "The Bryce _I_ know is a lazy guy who's an even pickier eater, who has just as much of an addiction to video games, and loves to make sarcastic comments and annoy people as much as he can."

"This fear isn't you Bryce, and Ms. Heroine isn't going to let you deal with your status ailment on your own!" Said Neptune, as I felt myself calm down as I relaxed a bit.

"...Don't go trying anything funny." Neptune said, as I let out a sad laugh, before I felt myself drift into unconsciousness.

"...Thank you Neptune… Thank you…" I said quietly, as tears dropped, as I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.


	13. Omake 2: Down with the sickness

"Ugh… Kill me…"

"Oh be quiet, you're fine." Said Neptune.

"I don't feel fine…" I responded, as groaned in pain as I grabbed a nearby tissue and sneezed into it.

"It's a cold!" Said Neptune. "This has nothing on any of the life threatening things you've been through before!"

"My life is pain…!"

"You're overreacting." Said Neptune.

"You're wearing a hazmat suit!" I said.

"It's a precaution!"

"How is this a precaution!?" I asked, before coughing up a storm.

"I don't know what an alien strain of the common cold could do to me! That's the real danger here!"

"So THAT's why my room was placed under quarantine…" I said to myself, as we heard the door open.

"Alright Nep-Nep, you can leave now." Said Compa, as Neptune was suddenly dragged out of the room.

"Wait! Where's your suit!? We're under quarantine here!" Neptune yelled in protest, before she was dragged out of the room by Compa, leaving me in silence.

"... **I hate being sick**." I said aloud, as if people could actually pick up on this.


	14. Day 96-97: The Climax (Sorta)

_**Day 96**_

"Morning Bryce." Said one of the Leanbox guards as two planeptune guards passed me onto the two Leanbox guards in front of me.

"Miranda." I said, nodding in her direction, before turning to the other guard next to her. "Jacob."

This had become a normal routine at this point. While things had been getting better for me, I was still technically a convict, in some regard.

It was all just precaution, but honestly, no one took it that way.

Well, I think there's like, ONE guard in Planeptune who takes this job of moving me WAY too seriously. It's like he has a grudge on me or something.

"Ready for more testing?" Asked Jacob.

I took a breath, before nodding.

"Yeah, I… think I'm ready." I said.

"We heard what happened from Lady Green Heart." Said Miranda. "You sure you're fine?"

"Yeah, I've given myself a few days, I SHOULD be fine by now." I said. "Now then, let's get this over with."

The two guards nodded, as they led me down the same path that I had taken many a time now.

I eventually stopped at the door leading to the testing grounds. As the door opened up, Miranda and Jacob snapped to attention, saluting.

"Vert?" I asked, looking at the Goddess who was currently standing with a few other researchers, wearing a lab coat that matched the ones the scientists were wearing, only green.

"Ah Bryce, good you're here." Said Vert.

"...Someone mind explaining to me why she's visiting?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, after your newest incident of many," Vert said, to which I slightly cringed. "Histoire asked me to oversee these tests for today. She's a bit worried that you might go into shock."

"...I'll be fine." I said.

"You locked yourself in your room for an entire day. The NEXT day when the CPUs got you out, you tried drinking a glass of water and started going into shock." Said Jacob.

"Shut it Keyes." I said to the guard to my right, as Miranda elbowed him.

"We're not doing too much today." Said Setag. "Just the normal procedure, and then something new, bing."

Setag had transferred onto the project after the whole fiasco with Anonydeath. I think a few scientists were happy that someone with her programming talent was on the team now.

"Alright, let's do this." I said, picking up the causality gauntlet, and strapping it to my arm, a groove cut in for the web shooter on my left arm.

I clenched my hand, as cause and effect split, before repeating the action as everything returned to normal.

"Alright, nothing wrong here… let's get to the next portion, Bing." Said Setag. "We want you to try… grabbing someone while in that frozen state."

I nodded, as I reactivated the gauntlet.

I turned to Vert, before placing my hand on her shoulder.

...Nothing happened.

"...Well... that was pointless." I said to myself.

I let out a sigh, before realizing something.

It had been past 30 seconds at this point.

I looked down at the causality gauntlet, only to see it glowing brighter.

I tried deactivating it, nothing.

I smacked it with my hand, everything returned to normal, for a few seconds.

Then, cause and effect split for ONLY me.

I felt my breath catch in my throat as I heard the faded sounds of running footsteps.

I felt hands try to move me, nothing.

My left hand at this point was burning, the light from the gauntlet was the only thing I could see.

Then, it exploded.

When I next was able to open my eyes, I was in what seemed to be an infirmary, my left arm hurt like a bitch, and I couldn't move it.

"Ah! Bryce!" I turned to my left to see Nepgear looking at me.

"Nepgear? What… what happened?" I asked.

"One second! Just let me grab the others." Said Nepgear, as she ran out the door, before Neptune, Vert and Histoire came into the room.

"Good, you're awake." Said Vert. "We were worried that something went really wrong."

"...What happened?" I asked.

"We're not sure, but we hazard a guess that something in the device short circuited, and the digital timer turned off. While this isn't very bad, there was a few… things that didn't turn out all well." Said Vert.

"...Like?" I asked.

A nearby nurse unwrapped my left arm, allowing me to see-

"Holy shit!" I shouted, looking at my left hand. "How the hell did that even…!?"

My left hand, now had what I assumed to be the Causality Gauntlet, firmly imbedded into my skin. The main device of the gauntlet being the only real visible thing, as it poked out of the back of my hand, the skin surrounding the metal of the device seemed melted to it now.

"Unfortunately, we're unsure how to remove the device safely without it triggering, or better yet, without you losing the ability to use your left hand. For now, all we can hope for is that you be careful with it." Said Vert.

"Well, it's not like he's using his LEFT hand for anything important." Said Neptune, as I turned to give her a glare.

"This DOES mean that there isn't really a timer integrated into the device anymore." Said Vert. "So be careful you don't go over that time limit."

I nodded, as I was allowed to move my still sore arm around.

"Well, this is just GREAT, isn't it?" I asked no one in particular.

"I mean, it CAN be." Said Neptune. "Think of all the pudding you could steal for me!"

"You literally are the GODDESS of Planeptune. I don't think you really need to someone to steal pudding for you." I said, deadpanning.

"Fine… Just don't go going around doing anything that could be labeled Ecchi, bucko! I'm watching you!" Said Neptune, pointing at my face, her index finger jammed at the tip of my nose.

I looked, at neptune for a second with a face of 'why the hell would I do that?', before looking over at Vert.

"...So! When can I head out?" I asked.

"A few hours. We need to gather a few more things and then send you off."

"Fair enough." I said, opening and closing my hand. "...feels weird."

"You have a giant piece of metal in your hand, that's a reasonable reaction." said Vert.

Neptune looked at me for a second, before turning to Nepgear.

"Jr, with me! We got some things to plan!" Neptune said, grabbing Nepgear's arm, before running out of the room.

"...What was that all about?" I asked.

Vert sighed. "Knowing Neptune, nothing good."

"Great…" I muttered, leaning back.

* * *

 _ **Day 97**_

"...What happened to you?" Asked IF, looking at me while I groaned, slumped on one of Neptune's beanbag chairs.

"Nanomachines, son." I said.

"What?" Asked IF.

"Neptune wanted Nepgear to build nanomachines that would be able to do… well, I'm not entirely sure, but I'm sure that it would have ended up doing more harm than good." I said, sighing.

"Anyways… Your arm feeling any better?" Asked IF, as I raised my left hand.

"Well, aside from the cold metal that was soldered into my skin, I honestly feel fine." I said, running a hand through my hair.

"I get that you were cleared to leave, but I still feel leaving that piece of metal in your skin isn't healthy for you." Said IF.

"Hey, ask Compa on that. She said I should be fine if we keep the area sanitized." I said, as the elevator doors opened, as Compa and Plutia walked into the room. "Speak of the devil and she shall appear…"

"Hey guys." IF said, as Compa took a seat at the table IF was sitting at, while Plutia sat down on the Sofa beside me.

"Hey Iffy." Said Compa, as she looked at me. "...Did Nep-Nep try cheering you up?"

"Is it really THAT obvious?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Your wrists have a mark that's slightly faded, almost like you were restrained." Said Compa.

"...Fair enough." I said, leaning back, as I looked at an upside down Plutia. "And what exactly were you doing out today?"

"I needed to get some things to make Plushie Bryce accurate." Said Plutia, as she started stiching metal into the left arm of what seemed to be a VERY accurate plushie of myself.

I felt a bead of sweat run down my forehead. "Of course…"

At the sudden sound of crying, everyone turned to see Peashy run out of the balcony into the TV room.

"...What do you bet Neptune went a bit… too far this time around?" I asked, as Plutia walked over to her room.

"I'll handle this…" She said, smiling as she opened her door.

"...I'm gonna go have a chat with Neptune then." I said, standing up.

"Try not to end up sympathizing with her too much." Said IF.

"What? When have I ever done that?" I asked.

"You're a very persuadable person." Said IF.

"Name one time I've been persuaded easily." I said.

"The shortbread incident." Said IF.

I felt an involuntary shiver run down my spine. "Never again shall we discuss what transpired in that kitchen…"

I shook my head, repressing already repressed memories, as I walked over to the balcony.

"Neptune? I saw peashy run inside crying, so- Oh, hey guys." I said, walking out to the balcony as Vert, Blanc, Rom, Ram, Noire and Uni were standing opposite of Neptune. "...Wait, when did you get here?"

"About the same time that Neptune made Peashy cry." Said Blanc.

"I may have went a bit too far." Neptune said.

"No… You don't say?" I asked sarcastically, my eyebrow raised.

"Shut it you!" Neptune said, as rolled my eyes with a smile.

"So, what brings you guys here?" I asked.

"Something about some R-rated Island." Said Neptune, a slight blush on her face, as Blanc covered Rom's ears, while Noire covered Uni's, and Uni covered Ram's respectively.

"It's an island for forbidden desires exclusively for adults." Said Vert. " _Things_ happen there, you know what I mean~."

"Things of a certain nature in every shape and form," Said Vert, as she brushed her hair to the side. "It's the most alluring theme park, where fantasies come true."

"Oh…! Now I see what's going on here!" Neptune said.

.."Oh great… Is it time for the obligatory beach episode?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

* * *

"You know, when I said that, I DIDN'T ACTUALLY MEAN IT!" I shouted, as Nepgear and Vert held me up by the arms as we flew over to R-18 island.

"Please don't shout when you're right next to my ear…" Purple Sister said.

"Ah, sorry." I said.

"We aren't going just for fun you know." Said Green Heart.

"Wait, you're telling me we're not just going there to have some fun?" Asked Purple Sister.

"I wish. But, unfortunately, that's not the case." Said Green Heart.

"I was running a routine search on my satellite network yesterday, and came across a giant gun battery installed right in plain sight on the island." Said White Heart.

"So we thought it would be wise to investigate." Black Heart said. "Histoire said to also be on the lookout for anything else strange while we're at it."

"Well, if they were trying to hide it, they were probably not expecting it to be seen via satellite." I said. "If they wanted something hidden in plain sight where it couldn't be seen from above, the R-18 shtick would've been enough to keep people too distracted to notice."

"You are correct, Bryce." Said Purple Heart. "In particular, I'm afraid they might be planning to start a war."

"This is silly Neppy." Plutia said. "I'm perfectly capable of flying myself."

"What!? No, I don't think so!" Purple Heart said Hastily. "You just stay like that, please. Plutie, I mean it."

"Aww." Plutia sighed.

"What's the big deal?" Black Heart asked. "If she can transform, why not let her?"

"Trust me, that is a fate that not even I would wish on our most hated enemies." I said, turning my head to look at Black Heart.

"I agree with Bryce. If you've seen what I've seen, I'd promise you'd agree with me." Said Purple Heart.

"Speaking of me, why am I being brought along?" I asked, looking up at Green Heart.

"Well, considering what has recently happened to you, as well as events before such.." Green Heart began.

"We decided that you were probably due some time outside of the Basilicom that doesn't involve something bad happening to you." Said White Heart.

"Well, Murphy's Law still exists, so let's see how long this lasts…" I muttered.

* * *

"Alright, we have to go through the immigration inspection before we can enter." Green Heart said, as we were separated into changing rooms.

"Oh, joy…" I muttered, finding that there were girl's changing rooms, and what seemed to be the same size as a single stall for men was what I walked into. "I forget that males are a freaking endangered species here…"

After swapping my clothes for my swim trunks, as well as throwing on a spare plain white t-shirt, I walked out to find the others in their own swimwear.

Everyone who was in their HDD form was still in HDD, since you could probably prove Neptune was an actual adult when she was transformed.

Speaking of Neptune…

"Uh, is this good enough?" Asked Purple Heart, as she posed alongside Black Heart and Purple Sister.

"Is it just me, or does it feel weird to power up then put on a swimsuit?" Asked Purple Sister.

"Our outfits are like swimsuits anyways." Said Black Heart.

"She's not wrong." I said, making my presence known.

"They have a pretty strict dress-code here." Said Green Heart, wearing what I assumed to be a seashell bikini that looked borderline dangerous. "Swimsuits, or all nude. Take your pick."

"That is rather strict, isn't it?" Said Purple Heart.

"...Yeah, I'm just gonna stay with the swimsuit…" I said.

Purple Heart's eyes landed on my shirt. "You're keeping that on?"

"Uh, yeah?" I said, raising my eyebrow. "What, you think I'm going out shirtless?"

"That was the idea, yes." Said Purple Heart.

"Yeah, uh… even though I HAVE fallen out of exercise, I'm not as bad as when I first arrived here, so I don't plan on being female eye candy." I muttered.

"I do believe the dress-code says males aren't aloud to wear a shirt…" Green Heart said, a smirk on her face.

"Oh god- fine!" I sighed, pulling off the white shirt. "It would've done literally nothing once I got in the water anyways…"

"You've fallen out of exercise?" Purple Heart asked. "Because it doesn't look like it."

"Cut the flattery, would you?" I asked, turning to the female changing rooms. "And it seems Plutia and Blanc are here."

"Hey guys!" Plutia said, waving to us as she walked out in a swimsuit, White Heart walked out as well, looking a tad annoyed.

"Hello." She said bluntly.

"Hehehe… You think this is cute enough?" Asked Plutia.

"Oh goodness me…" Green Heart said, a slight blush on her face.

"That's a yes, right?" Asked Plutia.

"I… don't think cute is what this island is going for…" I said, arms crossed.

"Oh, goodness me." Said Green Heart.

"Hey! You sure changed your tone of voice!" White Heart said, crossing her hands over her chest, a blush on her face, though it could be confused with anger.

"Huh? Oh, uh, I didn't mean too." Said Green Heart. "It's just that… Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm a little worried that they won't be convinced that the two of you are adults."

"Which way am I supposed to take that!?" White Heart asked, glaring at Green Heart.

"Oh joy, here we go again…" I muttered.

"I'm sure it will be fine." Said Purple Heart. "Besides, we're goddesses, and Bryce, I'm sure they'll understand that we're ageless."

"I mean, I AM 17 so..." I said.

"I'm sure you can sneak past. It's not like they'll be able to tell the difference for you." Said Purple Heart.

"Speaking of Bryce…" Green Heart said, handing me a single fingerless glove for my left hand. "Put it on. It's waterproof and air tight. It should keep the device in your hand from going haywire while we're on the island."

"Huh… Thanks." I said, putting it on. "Fits like a glove… well, you get what I mean.

"Well, I guess we might as well take a crack at it." Said Green Heart, walking over to the terminal… door… thing. "Immigration check!"

"You know, for an island, the fact that they're doing 'Immigration' checks seems…" I began quietly.

"Weird?" Black Heart asked.

"That's one way of putting it…" I said. "This feels like something more of a vacation thing. Like a… nude beach or something more along those lines, you get me? I am never saying that again."

"Alright, see you on the other side." Said Green Heart, as she walked through the _curtain_ as Purple Heart walked up next.

"Alright!" Purple Heart said, as she walked up next, quickly followed by Black Heart and Purple Sister.

"Alright, my turn." I said, walking over to the terminal.

 **{Hello, welcome to R-18 Island.}**

 **{I ask you, are you an adult?}**

 **{Yes/No}**

"Yep." I said, pressing the Yes button.

 **{Are you really over the age of 18 years?}**

"Yes." I said, pressing the button again.

 **{Honestly?}**

"YES!" I cried, pressing the button again.

 **{I can see your chest.}**

"I'M A GUY!" I exclaimed.

 **{Scanning… Scan Complete}**

 **{We apologize for this inconvenience}**

 **{Please read through and agree to the above.}**

"What? The hell's with this end user license sh*t?" I asked aloud. I sighed. "Whatever… Let's see… R-18 Island is not responsible for any injuries sustained via females on the island due too increased hormonal- Is this really happening right now? Yeah, sure whatever…"

I pressed the checkmark button, as the light on the Adult sign shone, as I was let past.

"Finally…" I muttered, walking out towards the other goddesses.

"So… What was that about you being confused with a girl?" Asked Purple Heart.

"God dammit…" I muttered, turning towards the curtain. "...Five bucks says Blanc destroys the terminal."

"I'm not taking that bet, I agree with it." Said Green Heart, as a loud crashing sound was heard.

"...Well, looks like I was right." I said, as White Heart and Plutia walked through the curtain.

"I… didn't mean to take a literal crack at it…" Green Heart said, eyebrows twitching.

* * *

After making past the checkpoint, the CPU's deactivated their HDD. Somehow, they were still wearing swimsuits… somehow.

Aside from Neptune, Plutia and Nepgear, the swimsuits worn by the other CPUs seemed to match their normal outfits to some extent.

"Okay, we made it onto the island… so uh, what are we supposed to do now?" Asked Neptune.

"Good question, maybe there's someone we can ask for directions?" Noire mused.

The sound of footsteps caught my attention as a rather familiar voice started talking.

"Hello, hello, hello! Welcome!" Said Linda as she walked up to us, wearing a swimsuit with a purple vest hoodie overtop. "My name is Linda, If you need anything at all, I'm your guide! And I'll cut you a discount."

"Wait, I know you…" Said Noire.

"It's her! The kidnapper!" Nepgear exclaimed, pointing at Linda.

"Aw crap, the CPUs!?" Linda exclaimed, jumping back.

"Well, look at this, so you're the bitch who stole my sisters!" Blanc said.

"Woah, wait, no no no no no, please hold on!" Linda shouted, jumping back further and bowing. "I totally swear to you, on my life that I am fully reformed now and am working hard."

I looked over at the CPUs next to me, all looking at her with unbelieving expressions.

"You expect me to buy that?" Asked Blanc.

"You will regret it if you lie to us." Said Noire.

"Wow, colour me surprised. You ACTUALLY got a job… I'm not even being sarcastic, congrats Linda." I said, walking in front of the CPUs.

"Huh! Bryce!? What are you doing here!?" Linda asked, standing up as I walked up to her.

"Oh, you know… Visiting? Well, no, more like I've been living with Neptune for the past… what was it, 60 days now? Something like that. And they decided after some… less than pleasant events that occured to me that they'd bring me along for this vacation." I said. "So anyways, how have you been?"

"Well, things kind of went downhill since you were arrested, but things picked up once I got hired here." Said Linda.

"Sounds good, anyways, I do believe you have a job to do, so I'll try not to keep you away from it." I said, walking back over to the CPUs. "She's fine, if anything, if she even does anything, it'll be harmless."

The CPUs looked at each other in thought, before they nodded.

* * *

"So that's it?" Asked Linda. "The only reason you're all here is to see the giant gun battery?"

"Do you know where it's located on the island?" Asked Vert.

"Yeah, of course, I can lead you right to it!" Said Linda.

"You make it sound like there's nothing wrong with having one out in the open on the island…" I said.

"You'll understand when you see it." Said Linda.

"But hey, you guys, we might as well check out some of the party spots while we're here?" Neptune suggested.

"I already told you, this is not a vacation." Said Noire.

"Don't be lame…" Neptune said.

"Oh! Hey, I know!" Linda said, gesturing to an opening behind some trees. "I've got just the place for some quick fun. This is the most beautiful spot of the island, Wairisqué Beach!"

"Oh wow! Wait, wha-wha-wha-wha-what?" Neptune stammered, as we looked out at the beach, covered in completely nude women, which in turn… were covered by… light beams?

"Whooaa…" Plutia awed.

"What the goodness!?" Nepgear exclaimed.

"Well, that's bold!" Neptune said.

"But there… where's their!?" Noire questioned. "Everyone's naked! I mean, Everyone!"

"It's like a real-life internet." Said Nepgear.

"Oh my, how wonderfully uninhibited…" Said Vert.

"What did I just let myself get dragged into?" I asked myself, remembering the warning I accepted earlier.

"We're wasting our time here." Said Noire, a blush on her face. "We need to find the battery!"

"Hey, what's with the glowy light streaks?" Neptune asked Linda.

"Yes, PLEASE explain that." I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, those? That's the mysterious light grass. It clings to the nether regions for some reason." Said Linda.

"You sound awfully calm about that." I said, before turning to see Vert leaning in and whispering something to Neptune.

"Why can't these people just wear swimsuits!?" Noire asked, a blush on her face.

"W-why the nether regions!?" Asked Nepgear, and equally red blush on her face.

"Great idea!" Neptune said suddenly, as I turned to see her throw off her swimsuit.

"It's totally safe to do this with that grass stuff!" Neptune said.

"Oh geez, Neptune. Uh, oh..." Said Nepgear.

"Come on, Nepgear! You do it! It feels great!" Neptune said, doing cartwheels and all sorts of things.

"Which does, the grass or the breeze!?" I asked aloud.

"Well, I'm not going to pass this up!" Vert said, pulling her top off.

"Yeah, me neither!" Plutia said, as Noire let out a gasp.

Soon, all three were nude, the only thing blocking their nethers were some very bright pieces of grass.

I suddenly felt myself trip at the sight, the back of my left hand slamming into my nose, as I held my hands over my nose.

"Ow fuuuu…" I muttered, pulling my hands away to find my nose bleeding. "Of course this happens…"

"Ufufufu…" Neptune said, laughing maniacally at this. "Since when we're you an anime protagonist, Bryce?"

"Oh shut up!" I said, as Linda handed me a some nearby light grass. "Thanks."

"Just hurry up with it." Said Linda as I quickly fixed the bleeding nose issue.

"If everyone else can do it, so can I!" Nepgear said, pulling her swimsuit off as well.

"Take this!" Neptune said, throwing water at Vert.

"What the hell has gotten into them?" Blanc asked.

"Come on, we need to hurry!" Noire said.

"Hahaha…" Neptune chuckled darkly, as she squatted down and pulled up Light Grass seaweed, as she threw it at Me, Noire and Blanc. I ducked behind the two, as the seaweed wrapped around them both. "Go and act modest all you like! With a little extra use of the mysterious light grass… Voila! You might as well be naked now…!"

"Ooh, such naughty girls, good thing they're censored!"

"Come on! You know you are a serious perv, Neptune!" Noire said.

"Pervy melts what the heart does best! Now hurry up and strip for realsies!" Said Neptune, before she turned to me. "And don't think I forgot about you there Bryce!"

"Oh god please no…" I muttered, only to get hit by a piece of seaweed and find a moderately sized chunk stuck to the front of my trunks. "...I swear I am not compensating for anything."

Neptune let out a laugh as I sighed. "You know, I could've sworn this was meant to be some sorta vacation for me, but it turns out it's just another way for Neptune to torment me…"

"That freak… alright, no use fighting it." Said Noire.

"Wait, hold on." Said Blanc, summoning her hammer as she swung it around, sending a gust of wind at all of us.

"Huh!? Aww man!" Neptune said, as the light grass flew off, revealing her in her swimsuit.

"Aww… she figured it out." Said Plutia, also back in her swimsuit.

"What a pity, and it was just about to get good too…" Said Vert.

"I just knew there was something fishy about this." Said Blanc.

"I don't get it Neptune, I clearly saw you rip off your bikini!" Said Noire.

"I was wearing another one under it!" Said Neptune, sticking her tongue out.

"Wait, but how the hell did you even manage to plan that far ahea- you know what, forget I asked." I said.

A sudden scream from Nepgear was heard as we all turned to- woah, okay, looking the other way now. Going to uh… wow, okay then.

"What kind of big sister are you!?" Nepgear asked as I heard her go back into the water.

"Sorry Nepgear, I didn't think you'd actually go through with it." Said Neptune.

"Hang on a minute, I'll go bring you your swimsuit." said Plutia.

I turned to Linda, seeing her with a devious smirk on her face holding a bottle of some kind.

I looked back to Neptune and the others and found them already start doing different things. Neptune and Noire started setting up a volleyball net, Blanc and Plutia started building sandcastles, or… whatever Plutia was doing, and Vert and Nepgear were setting up sunbathing spots.

I walked over to Linda as I sat down next to her as we watched the CPUs do their own thing.

"...So… you've been housing with Purple huh?" Asked Linda.

I sighed. "So you're not totally reformed, huh? Figured, but I didn't want to assume."

"Old habits die hard." Said Linda.

"And that aphrodisiac or whatever it is in your pocket sure doesn't seem to say 'Old habits'." I said, glancing at her. "Word to the wise, here's what's going to happen if you spike a drink with that. Neptune is going to immediately start acting weird, everyone is going to immediately find out it was you who spiked her drink, and then Plutia is going to mess you up."

"Plutia? You mean the one who talks slow?" Asked Linda.

"Yeah, well, just wait until she transforms… THEN, you will wish you were never even conceived." I said. "Just a warning. Anyways, I'm gonna go join them, you go do… whatever it is you do."

I walked over to Neptune and Noire, ignoring Vert and Nepgear putting sunscreen on, as the volleyball came crashing down onto Neptune's face as the ball landing behind her.

"Ooh… that's gotta hurt." I said to myself. "It's like watching a Scott Sterling video…"

"Hey ladies!" We turned to see Linda walk over carrying a tray of drinks. "Anyone care for some Iced Tea?"

"Now THAT is service!" Noire said.

"Tea time! Bring it on!" Said Neptune.

Everyone grabbed a glass from the tray, as I walked over to find the tray empty.

"Oh right, here." Said Linda, handing me a seperate glass.

"Thanks." I said, taking a sip, only to start coughing once I swallowed. "Did you just give me Alcohol!? Holy SH*T that burns!"

"Think of it as a gift." She said, as I rubbed my throat.

"AH! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Said Neptune as she finished her drink.

"Have some, there's plenty to go around." Linda said, as Neptune crouched down, holding her throat.

"Neptune!" Nepgear exclaimed, running over.

I stole a look at Linda, as I looked down at my drink. '...This better not end badly…'

"What's wrong Neptune?" Noire asked.

"Are you having trouble breathing?" Asked Vert.

Neptune stood up, as she turned away from us.

"Uh… You okay there Neptune?" I asked, walking over to her, giving my drink back to Linda on my way over.

Neptune turned around, a different… aura, I guess, was around her, as she suddenly covered herself. "Waa! No, what happened! I'm so embarrassed!"

"Yes!" I heard Linda pump herself up.

"Dammit." I muttered.

"Why am I dressed like this? It's so improper! Oh no… Don't look at me!" Neptune said, squirming around as we stared at her.

"Is this supposed to be a joke, because it's kind of creeping me out." Noire said.

"You and me both…" I said. "Seriously, you would think this would be better, but it's honestly just unnerving."

"That is not the sister I know." Said Nepgear.

"There can only be one culprit." Said Vert. "Although it's certainly a taboo on this island, I've heard of a drug that can strongly enhance a person's sense of shame."

Everyone, and I do mean everyone, besides Neptune of course, turned to look at Linda with a guilty look.

"Ah! Hey, woah! I don't know nothing about any drug okay?" Linda said, only for the bottle FOR said drug slipped out of her pocket.

"...Welp… I warned you Linda." I said, leaning back as I rolled my eyes.

"You're dead you punk!" Blanc shouted. "To think we ever believed you-!"

Plutia seemed to slide in, in front of Blanc, as she smiled sweetly at Linda, her face shadowed. "Hey wait, I'm sure she can explain. You turned over a new leaf, right? So what's going on here?"

I felt myself start nervously laughing, as Vert turned to look at me. I just shook my head with a 'Someone's dead' expression on my face.

"Ah! Plutia! Don't get mad!" Nepgear said.

"It's too late now…" I said, placing my hand on Nepgear's shoulder.

"Tch, get real! I wiped my ass with your new leaf!" Linda said. "I'm a natural born villian, see?"

"Well that's too bad, no benefit of the doubt for you…" Said Plutia, as a chill went down everyone's spine.

"What's happening?" Asked Linda.

"You pressed the Iris Button." I said. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Oh well…" Plutia said, as she was enveloped in a column of purple light, as Iris Heart emerged.

"Uh oh, this was what I was worried about." Said Nepgear.

"I suppose I'll have to reform you myself!" Said Iris Heart, pulling on the whip that appeared in her hands. "And this is going to be a long, slow process."

"Go ahead and try it, I don't care…!" Linda said, shaking in her place, only for her to sprint off into the jungle, Iris Heart quickly giving chace.

"...Welp, there she goes…" I said, turning around. "This day… I swear…"

* * *

"Right this way, we have almost reached our destination, the gun battery." Said Linda, almost robotically as we followed her.

"It's like, she's hardly even human now." Said Noire.

"What did you expect after being victimized like that?" Asked Vert.

"Well the perpetrator seems alright with it." Said Blanc, as we looked over at Nepgear, Plutia, and Neptune, who was currently holding her head with her right arm.

"Feeling better now?" Asked Plutia.

"I think, I just can't remember anything about what happened to me." Said Neptune, as I paused to get in line with them.

"Well, you know, that's probably for the best." Said Nepgear.

"Wait, what, really?" Asked Neptune in worry.

"Oh don't listen to her." Said Plutia. "It wasn't all that bad."

"If you call her completely doing a 180, and acting all shy and embarrassed about showing skin, then yeah, it wasn't that bad." I said, a smile on my face. "Shame no one had a video camera though. But I do believe that it's both not waterproof, as well as not being aloud on the island in general."

"Wha-wha-what!?" Neptune exclaimed.

"It's not as bad as you think Neptune." Said Nepgear.

"Besides, you were kind of cute." Said Plutia.

"Huh? Why'd a chill just run down my spine?" Neptune asked as she I shrugged.

"As promised, we have arrived." Said Linda, as we looked out.

"Huh? What is this?" Noire asked.

"A bubble party!" Plutia said.

"That's a bunch of naked people…" I said, putting a hand over my eyes. "...Well then."

"So is this just, a giant disco?" Nepgear asked.

"But those are gun barrels." Vert said.

"So that thing's the gun battery?" Asked Noire.

"Looks like it." I said, hand still in front of my face.

"Oh for the love of-" Neptune said, pulling my hand away from my face. "But it's nothing but a big bubble maker."

"Hey, it stopped." Said Nepgear.

"No, it's about to start." Said Blanc, as everyone but me tensed up.

The gun barrels turned to up, as I looked at the others.

"Get ready to transform, everyone." Said Vert.

Everything grew quite for a second, before more bubbles were shot out of the gun barrels at a faster rate, the sound of cheering from the females on the gun battery grew once again.

"...Huh." I said. "False alarm then."

"That's adorable." Said Noire, before she paused. "Wait, hold on! You mean we travelled all this way for bubbles!?"

"Uh… yeah." I said, as I turned to Noire, who seemed to be distracted by something. "Noire?"

"Why is he here?" She asked, pushing some of the bigger bubbles away as we ran towards the battery.

"Wait, no okay, fine…" I said to myself, as I ran after her.

"Did I imagine that?" She asked herself.

"Imagine what?" I asked.

"I could've sworn… Nevermind." She said as we walked back to the others.

* * *

"Wow, now that's what I call a wasted afternoon." Said White Heart, as we flew back towards Planeptune.

"I suppose so…" Said Black Heart.

"Noire, is something wrong?" Asked Purple Heart. "It seems like you're a bit distracted."

"Huh?" Black Heart raised her hands. "No, I'm fine! Really it's nothing."

"It's alright. I know you regret not getting naked, but there's always next time." Said Vert.

"Really? So are you saying that Noire isn't just a Cosplayer, but an aspiring nudist too?" Asked Purple Sister.

"Yeah, I DON'T think that's what has her attention." I said, laughing a bit as I held onto Purple Heart's arms.

"Hey guys…" Plutia asked, as we looked at her. "You've seen me transform right? So why don't I do a little Henshin-a-go go and-"

"Absolutely not!" Everyone else said in unison.

"Biggest meanies ever…" Said Plutia.

* * *

"We're home you guys!" Neptune said, as she landed, dropped me and de-transformed.

An unanimous greeting of: "Hey, welcome back." was what we were greeted too.

"I brought a present for P-ko, check it out!" Neptune said, as I suddenly felt uneasy, as I reattached my web shooters to my wrists. "I wrote my name on all of 'em, so we'll have a whole bunch of Nep's puddings."

"Now I can always share 'em, we won't have to fight P-ko." Said Neptune as she looked up from her bag. "Hey… where's P-ko."

I looked at the faces of IF, Histoire and Compa for a second. "...Oh no…" I muttered.

"Well, that's the thing… actually…" Histoire began. "P-ko… went back home."

"What do you mean P-ko went back home?" Neptune asked, as I walked over to her.

"Her mother came to pick her up and… that was that." Said Histoire, as I felt my right hand clench.

"Are you kidding out of the blue, just like that?" Asked Neptune.

"I know how you feel, but Peashy insisted on leaving right away." Said Histoire.

"She didn't even stop to say goodbye…" Said Rom, as Neptune suddenly bolted off into the basilicom.

"Hey, Neptune!" I yelled, as went to follow after her.

"Let her be…" Histoire said, as I stopped. "Let's continue this conversation inside."

I sighed, as we walked towards the dining room.

"I miss her…" Said Rom.

"Okay, but… We can still go visit her at her house sometimes, right?" Asked Nepgear, as I leaned against the window, arms crossed.

"I'm afraid not." Said Histoire.

"She took off before we could find out where she lives." Said Uni.

"I'm sorry if I sound out of line or something, but shouldn't there have been ANY kind of background check on her 'mother' or at least, shouldn't you have been given any sort of address before you even let them leave?" I asked.

Histoire looked down, as I sighed.

"I'm going to go find Neptune…" I said.

"If you do, tell her that we need to announce 'that'." Said Vert.

"Um… okay?" I said, walking out of the room.

"Really? Now of all times?" Noire asked.

"I understand the mood, but unfortunately, we need to let him know as soon as we made our decision…" Said Vert. "Why do you think I said to bring him along…?"

"...Oh…" Said Noire.

* * *

"...So this is where you are…" I said, walking onto the balcony, as Neptune hugged the plush Peashy to her chest.

"...The last thing I did was call her a dummy… That's what she'll remember me for…" Neptune said.

"...You'll see her again." I said, as I helped Neptune up. "...I know how you're feeling right now… but I need you to… calm down… Vert said that 'we need to announce _that_ ' or… something like that…"

"What!? No, we can't!" Neptune said, as she looked at me with tears in her eyes.

"Hey… what are you talking about?" I asked. "I'm sure it's not as bad as you think. Come on, we shouldn't keep them waiting."

I extended my right hand as Neptune looked at it before grasping it.

"Alright." I said, walking back inside.

"...Why aren't you sad?" She asked me.

"...I am." I answered, looking at her. "...Peashy… was like my little brother. She was an annoyance, she was an attention hog… but I still loved her like a sister. There's no way I couldn't. I'm not in tears like you are… because I… I don't cry when someone is gone… I laugh… I laugh the saddest laughs I can in private… because it's the only time I can let myself go…"

I sighed. "We're here."

We walked back into the dining room as Vert, Noire and Blanc were standing opposite me from the table. Everyone else was on the sides, leaving Neptune to hold onto my hand.

I swear she gripped it tighter.

"Bryce… while the timing… I would prefer it to be at a better time… but we must tell you anyways." Said Vert.

"...What's going on?" I asked, looking at the three goddesses in front of me.

"...Your sentence… has past." Said Vert, as I felt my eyes widen. "As of right now, you are no longer to be held in the basilicom."

"Wait, so… I'm… free?" I asked, looking over at Neptune, who just looked down.

"Your apartment has been kept vacant for your return." Said Vert. "Considering you'll be here for the foreseeable future… I think you'll appreciate it…"

"...What do you mean by foreseeable future?" I asked after a moment of silence, as Noire and Blanc looked at Vert in confusion. "Vert… what do you mean by that?"

"...Unfortunately…" She began, her voice straining. "...After the accident… we discovered that even if we were to try to continue… What I'm trying to say is…"

"...We're unable to find you a way home." Said Vert finally, as she looked down. "...Even if we were to remove the device… it wouldn't make a difference…"

Vert looked me in the eyes. "...You're stuck in Gamindustri… for the rest of your life."

I felt the words hit me like a brick wall, as I took a step back, my eyes landing on my feet.

"...What?" I asked, looking back up at Vert. "You're… you're joking right? Vert? Noire, Blanc, tell me she's joking… You're joking right!?" A smile had crept up onto my face, as I started to sweating, tears welling up in my eyes.

"...No… I'm not." Said Vert looking down once again.

"...Bryce…" Neptune said, looking at me, as I my smile curved downwards, as my left hand started shaking.

"...Ha…. hehehehehe…" I laughed, as a single tear dropped down my cheek, my breathing starting to pick up. I looked up at Vert, my eyes flashing with anger as I clenched my left hand into a fist.

"Bryce, no-!" Vert tried to say, as Cause and Effect split, the device melted into my skin now active.

I breathed in and out, as I glared at Vert in anger, as the only thought in my head at the moment was to cause her pain. The same pain she gave me. And since there was no more time limit…

I felt 30 seconds go by, as I clenched my right hand around Neptune's hand… only to realize what I was doing.

I turned to face Neptune, who was stuck just like Vert, just like everyone else in the room as well as beyond was currently.

"...Wait… no!" I shouted, unclenching my hands as cause and effect snapped together, Neptune dropping to the floor, as Vert caught herself on the table. "No no no no no no!"

I looked around at the CPUs and the other inhabitants of the room, before running towards the balcony.

"Bryce… wait!" Vert tried saying, as I jumped off and started web swinging away from the basilicom.

* * *

When I ran out of buildings to swing from, I ran.

I ran and ran, and I ran and ran…

Until I found myself at a beach.

I collapsed to my knees, as my hand pulled out my kimber.

"...The magazine's almost full…" I muttered, as I pulled out the magazine, and slid it back in, pulling the slider back as I looked out at the ocean in front of me.

"Bryce!" I heard the sound of wind, as Neptune landed behind me, returning to her human form as she walked up next to me.

"...Hey…" I said, closing my eyes.

She sat down next to me, as I felt her place a hand on my shoulder.

"...We were given the notice that you had finished your sentence earlier by Vert, and she seemed very keen on bringing you along to R-18 island when it was brought up." Said Neptune. "...I guess… She thought of it as a way for you to consider staying here as something that wasn't a bad thing…"

"And then Peashy left…" Neptune said, as she started crying. "...I… I didn't want you to leave too…"

I opened my eyes. "...I… I'm sorry." I said.

"...You have nothing to be sorry about." She said.

"...Then what do you call what just happened?" I asked, not looking at her.

"...I'm not sure." She said, taking her hand off my shoulder.

"...It's not your fault though…" She said, looking at me. "...Whatever is going to happen after this… With you… it's… it's going to be okay."

I smiled. "...Yeah… It will be." I said…

As I brought the barrel of my gun under my chin, and pulled the trigger.


	15. Day 97-Cont: The Aftermath

***CLICK***

I pulled the trigger again, only to get the same sound. I pulled the gun away from my head, looking down to find I had left the safety on.

"Of course I did…" I muttered, only to be tackled to the side as the gun flew out of my hands.

"Are you insane!?" Neptune exclaimed.

"Maybe! I don't know!?" I answered back, as I was pinned to the ground.

"Why did you even try that!?" She screamed into my face.

"I don't know!" I answered, pushing her off me as I rolled over and pushed off the ground. "I just…"

"Did nothing I just say go through your head, you idiot!?" Neptune asked, grabbing onto my shirt. "I just told you I'd miss you if you had left… and then you go and try to kill yourself!?"

"...I did…" I said, closing my eyes. "...I… It just got too much to handle… Everything that I had went through… then Peashy left… and then I… I'm stuck in a world… where everything seems to be out to get me… where some higher being seems to think people get a kick out of watching me suffer. Be it nearly dying, traumatisation or… whatever else… It's just too much…"

I fell to my knees as I shakily put a hand on Neptune's shoulder. "...I just… want to go home… and just… go back to doing literally nothing with my life… go back to… playing my video games and reading and writing Fanfiction on some site…"

"And you thought killing yourself would lead to that!?" She asked.

"Here we are talking about listening to someone, did you not just hear what I said!?" I asked, as I raised my head to look at Neptune. "I just… I can't keep doing this anymore…"

I felt a hard impact to the side of my face, as I fell over onto my right side.

"That's a load of dogoo slime, and you know it!" Said Neptune, as I pushed myself up, putting a hand to my face.

"You slapped me!" I said.

"You tried to shoot yourself!" She shouted, as I took a shaky step up. "What do I need to do to get the thought out of your head that killing yourself isn't the answer!?"

"I don't know!" I said, turning to her. "...Why would I want to stay in a place where there I can't even call anyone fam-"

My words were suddenly cut off, as a pair of lips slammed onto mine, as my eyes widened as Neptune took a step back, glaring at me.

"Am I making it clear enough for you now!?" She asked, as I stopped, my mouth opening and closing.

"...Uh…" I licked my lips. "...What just… are we sure I didn't die? Because I think you just kissed me."

"What the hell do you think!" She said. "I can do it again, if that helps you realize you aren't dead!"

"...You kissed me…" I said, repeating like a broken record, as I licked my lips again.

"...uh, Bryce? I… think I broke him…" Neptune said. "Error 404 over here… Bryce is not responding."

"...Oh… OH MY GOD!" I shouted, slapping myself. "Why the f*ck am I so stupid!?"

"Ah, there we go." She said, as I shook my head.

"...I'm an idiot." I said.

"And an asshole… and a bit of a pervert… not to mention-" Neptune began.

"Okay okay, I get it!" I said, placing my hands on her shoulders. "...How long ago?"

"Since day 66." She said.

"That was… the day my sentence was rewritten? I think that was it… wow, okay then." I said, leaning back as I laid on the sand.

"...You may be all of those things said above." Said Neptune, as I sat up. "But you're one other thing."

"That is?" I asked, as she leaned in, kissing me once again.

"You're also the man I love." She said.

"Okay, two things, one, stop with the cheese, it's killing me more than that gun over there." I said, tilting my head towards where my discarded gun was.

"Second?" She asked, as I leaned in an kissed her.

"Feelings are mutual." I said.

"...and how long ago was that?" She asked.

"...Feelings didn't blossom until sometime during my stay here." I said. "I forgot when that was exactly."

"Well, with that out of the way." I said, standing up as I looked out at the ocean in front of us, the moon reflecting off the water. "...I think I should give myself a minute before heading back to the basilicom…"

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea." Said Neptune.

"...Want to go check out my old apartment?" I asked, as I turned to Neptune. "Will probably help keep your mind off things."

' _Both my attempted suicide, and Peashy…'_ I thought to myself.

"...Sure, let's see what 'Su Casa' looks like." Said Neptune.

"Su Casa? Oh right, 'you're house'..." I said to myself, before looking at Neptune. "So… shall we?"

* * *

"Huh… was expecting more dust… and cobwebs…" Said Neptune.

"It's not like it'll look like a haunted house, just because I've been gone for… how many months has it been now that I think about it." I said to myself, looking at the apartment in front of me, plastic sheets wrapped around the furniture in what I had called my home a few months ago.

"I am not looking forward to opening up your refrigerator…" Said Neptune, as I walked over to said appliance, opening the door to find a single empty cardboard box in it, the words 'Doc P.' on the side.

"...I know I had at least a can or two left over…" I muttered. "Looks like the clean up crew from the… was it the basilicom or was it the guild?"

"I dunno." Neptune said.

"Whatever." I muttered, as I opened the door to what once was Linda's room, only to find the room looked like it had never been touched.

"Guess she booked out pretty hard when I broke the news." I said, sighing. "...Let's head back to the basilicom…"

"You sure?" Neptune asked.

"...Yeah… I'd like to ask Histoire if she'd allow me to continue boarding with you guys." I said, as I walked out of Linda's room. "That, and I need to ask IF for my bag back."

"Didn't she give you it though?" Neptune asked.

"She gave me my phone and headphones, but she kept my laptop and everything else that was in my bag." I said, as I opened the front door, holding it open for Neptune. "After you."

"When did you become such a gentleman?" She asked.

"The moment you kissed me." I said, following after her.

* * *

"We're back!" Neptune said, as the elevator door opened with a 'ding!'. I walked out behind Neptune, as the eyes of everyone turned to look at us.

"So… I should probably apologize." I said, as I looked at the CPUs, Candidates and Makers in front of me. "I'll be honest, I don't know the first thing to really say right now."

"How about where you went after you jumped out the window." Said Noire.

"...Well…"

…

"You tried to kill yourself!?" Noire exclaimed, as everyone looked at me.

"...Yes." I said after a moment. "Look, I already explained to Neptune and all that, and I honestly don't want to talk about it anymore. I just want to stop and forget I ever tried that to begin with."

"...Sorry about the whole… trying to kill you during stopped time." I said, looking at Vert. "It wasn't my finest moment."

"I think anyone in your position wouldn't have had a clear head when faced with such news." Said Vert. "However, I think we should move forward with the removal of the device as soon as possible."

"Yeah…" I said, as I felt a shiver go up my spine. "...Did someone touch the AC?"

"Now that we're all settled." Said Plutia, as everyone turned to her, an unnerving smile plastered on her face. "Can I have a few moments alone with Bryce?"

"...Why do I not like the wording of that?" I asked, as everyone stood up and quickly left. "Wha- Hey! Guys!?"

A sudden flash of light sounded off behind me, as I turned around to see Iris Heart, and…

"...You're shorter than me…" I said, to myself, looking down at the sadist who was a full 7 inches shorter than me. "...That actually makes this a bit less terrifying."

"Oh, we'll have to change that then, won't we?" She asked.

"...I need an adult?"

"I am an adult."

* * *

"Congratulations Neppy!" Plutia said, as she walked back into the main room, a smile on her face, as Neptune visibly paled.

"T-thanks?" Neptune responded quickly, a stutter in her voice.

"What are we congratulating?" Noire asked, letting out a sigh inwardly at seeing Plutia in her normal form.

"Neppy got a boyfriend~!" Plutia sang, as everyone looked at Neptune, then at the open door leading to the room where **[Content has been censored for your own sanity]** occurred.

"...So Bryce then?" Asked IF. "...Well, Nep, you might want to check the damages on your 'boyfriend'. I don't think you can get a refund on him if he's broken."

"Ah! Right!" Neptune said, quickly running into the room. "Bryce! You alr-what are you doing?"

Now this would normally be the point where I would rock from side to side, silently whispering 'all these squares make a circle' to myself, but I have evolved past that stage of myself.

"I have seen many things in my life… but that… what the f*ck…" I muttered, as I laid on the ground, my eyes equipped with the 'dark bags' debuff as I rolled over and stood up, my eyes slightly vacant. "...Oh hey Spooky Pirate, when did you show up?"

"...Plutia, I think you broke him." Said IF, as she walked in behind Neptune.

"Let me fix him." Said Neptune.

"How exactly?" IF asked, only for Neptune to pull my head down and kiss me again.

"...I'm okay now." I said, slapping myself in the face. "Just needed to be turned off and on again."

I walked out of the room, a visible limb in my step, as I sat down on the nearby couch, looking out to see.

"Jeez, it's still night!?" I exclaimed.

"Did you expect it to be something else? You were gone for half an hour." Said IF.

"Oh, right…" I muttered. "I'm very tired."

"I noticed." Said IF.

"Hey, Histoire." I said, standing up as I motioned her to the side. "Okay, so Basically…. I'd like to ask to stay here at the basilicom for the time being."

"I don't think there would be an issue with such a thing, but I'd like to ask why the sudden question." Asked Histoire.

"Well, my old apartment was a bit… too full of bad memories." I said. "That, and it would probably feel very weird going back to the apartment after being here for a few months."

"Alright then." Said Histoire. "I'd recommend you go get some sleep, you look like you could pass out any second."

"I'm gonna go take that advice." I said, walking over to my room, as I opened the door and crashed down on the bed, instantly passing out.


	16. Day 100-101: Moving On

I rolled my neck, the solid cracking sounds sent some relief to me, as I sat in the kitchen at about 1 in the morning.

I sighed, as I opened the refrigerator, as I slid the countless pudding cups labeled 'Nep' to the side, most of them being stored their with some false hope they'd be gone in the morning.

I reached further into the fridge, pulling out a jug of milk, as I poured a glass of milk into a glass nearby, as I took a sniff of the milk.

"Still smells fresh." I muttered, as I placed the jug back into the refrigerator, as I closed the door, sliding down to my knees as I placed my head against the cold metal of the refrigerator door.

"Oh! Bryce." Said a voice, as I turned my head to see Nepgear in her pajamas. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I could ask you the same thing." I said, standing up as I brought the glass of milk to my lips, as I took a sip. "Can't sleep… I would take some melatonin.. But we don't have any."

"Ah… I guess that makes sense." Said Nepgear, as she nodded, as I placed my glass down on the nearby counter. "I take it you've had trouble for a few nights now?"

I nodded, rubbing my eyes with my right index finger and thumb, as I looked at her with half lidded eyes, some rather dark bags over my eyes.

I sighed, as I picked up the glass of cold milk as I knocked back my head and let the cool liquid run down the back of my throat.

"...I've only ever had insomnia on days that would make sense, like the day before my birthday or days I would be going on vacation or something. But to experience the way I have for the past few days…" I muttered, running my hands through my hair, as a few flakes of dandruff fell onto the counter, as Nepgear walked next to me, opening up one of the numerous pudding cups.

"I can't imagine that's healthy…" She said, with a small laugh of sympathy.

I nodded, as she looked down at the cup in her hands, the pudding inside jiggling around slowly.

Nepgear sighed. "Sis hasn't really been the same since Peashy disappeared."

"I don't think any of us are." I said, looking back at the refrigerator. "You left that open by the way."

"Ah!" Nepgear jumped over to the door, closing it shut, as she sighed. "...She's working herself to the bone."

"You're not wrong…" I said, leaning against the counter.

There was a sudden silence between us, as I let out a breath.

"...Are you sure?" She asked me suddenly, breaking our shared silence.

"Hm?" I turned my head slightly in her direction.

"Are you sure you're fine?" Asked Nepgear. "I know you keep telling us that you're fine, but you've been acting… really paranoid recently."

"I… don't know what you're talking about…" I said, the dandruff on the counter suddenly looked more interesting.

"You don't leave your room until late in the morning, sometimes only waking after we've had lunch-"

"Have you met me?" I asked bluntly.

"You've made a conscious attempt to keep any and all weapons away from your being, going so far as to toss your gun holster, with your gun in it over the balcony mind you." Said a new voice, as IF walked into the room. "And if I heard the most recent conversation, you've been suffering from insomnia for the past few days, and I don't think it's from you not being tired."

"...Okay fine! I'm not better! I feel worse! Is this what you wanted me to admit?" I asked, as I turned to IF. "Side note, when did you get here?"

"Compa and I were staying over with Neptune last night in an attempt to make her feel better." Said IF. "Also, you aren't really making any attempt to be quiet."

"I take it that went about as well as expected." I said, looking at her with mild interest. "How'd that go?"

"Don't change the subject." Said IF, as I turned my eyes to the floor with a small scowl. "You're also exaggerating. If you really felt worse, I'm sure you'd have attempted suicide again."

I moved away from the countertop, as I sat down at one of the nearby chairs. "What the hell do I do?" I asked, as I put my hands on my forehead. I sighed. "I always imagined going to another universe would be something out of a movie, where everything always works out for the outsider, but look at me… I'm a attempted suicide victim, who's stuck in a world who's own murphy's law seems to have been cranked to 11."

"Bryce…" Nepgear said, as she sat down on the chair next to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "...Have I ever told you about the time I went with my big sister on a mission once?"

I turned to Nepgear, as she looked down at the countertop.

"We were with the other CPUs, and we were fighting someone by the name of Magic, and we were being easily outmatched…" Nepgear said, as she sighed. "...I couldn't activate my HDD yet, so I was helpless as I saw her take out each and every one of the CPUs… I thought I was going to die there…"

"Compa and I had been following them as backup, and we were able to get out with Nepgear, but Nep and the others were taken hostage." Said IF.

"When we got back, I was probably around the point you are right now…" Said Nepgear. "I was… scared, all four nations' shares were plummeting, and there really wasn't much we could do…"

Nepgear grew a smile on her face, as she reminisced. "But, I had IF and Compa with me, and then I met the other candidates, Rom and Ram… Uni, and they helped me out of the hole I was in, I gained confidence, and we went after Magic to get back our sisters…"

Nepgear looked over at me, as I stared intently at her as she told her story. "What I'm trying to say, is that you won't get better on your own. Sometimes you need your friends and family to help you out of the hole."

I closed my eyes and let out a slight laugh. "Thanks… I needed that… Sis…"

I felt the cold touch of the counter as I rested my face against it, drifting off to sleep finally.

* * *

I awoke to find myself back in my room, as I pulled the bedsheets off me.

"...I won't get better on my own…" I muttered, as I opened the door to the main room, seeing a tired Neptune searching the fridge. "...And neither will you…"

"Morning Neptune!" I said, walking over to her.

"Morning…" She mumbled out, as she took out a cup of pudding, as she sat down on one of the chairs near the counter.

"So, what's the plan for today?" I asked.

"Searching." Said Neptune, struggling to open the cup of pudding.

"...That was your plan yesterday." I said, holding my hand out as she placed the cup in it, as I opened her pudding cup for her. "Look… You need a break. And I'm not taking no for an answer."

"I can't stop…" Neptune said, as she looked down.

I sighed, as I walked over to the balcony. "I'm going out to clear my head, when I'm back I expect to find you playing video games or something."

I didn't hear a response by the time I opened the balcony doors.

I sighed, as I checked the web shooters on my wrists, still there. I looked to the side in wonder, before nodding,as I threw my coat on.

"...Okay, here goes nothing." I said, as I hoped onto the railing, before yelling as loud as I could. "Oh sh*t, wait, I forgot my webshooters!"

I then jumped off the balcony, as I started to free fall, as I twisted my body to see a bright light from the top of the tower, as a very worried Purple Heart chased after me, grabbed my arm before I had even gotten halfway down the tower.

"Are you okay!?" She asked in worry, only to see the web shooter on my wrist. Hook, line and sinker.

"Oh, I'm just perfect." I said, smirking. "But are you better? Or do I need to do something more stupid so I can get you to stop worrying so much."

"I… you…" She said in anger, before I pulled myself up her eye level, using the small amount of muscle I had gained from all the webswinging, as I looked at her.

"You, me, tomorrow, the mall, we're going to do something nice. Capiche?" I asked, as I nodded to myself, as I broke my grip with her, as I continued my freefall, before shooting out a webline at the tower, swinging towards some of the other tall buildings nearby, letting go as I shot two strands out to pull myself forwards like a slingshot.

"...I just asked the goddess of a nation out on a date…" I said to myself, as I fired another webline, launching myself upwards, as I maneuvered myself so I landed on a nearby roof. "...I think I'm going to pass out… holy crap…"

After taking as second to get my breathing in check, I pulled out my phone.

"What the hell is there to do at the freakin' mall?" I asked myself, as I searched the internep.

* * *

"Hey guys!" I shouted from above as I swung low and went into a jog as I slowed down next to IF and Compa.

"Morning Bry-Bry!" Said Compa.

"You seem to be in a better mood this morning. What happened?" Asked IF.

"So… I _MAY_ have just asking Neptune on a date." I said, as they both stopped and turned to me.

"Wait, you did what?" asked IF as I rubbed the back of my head.

"Yeah… See I wanted to get Neptune's mind off of Peashy… And that was kind of the first thing that came to mind." I said, clasping my hands together. "SO… I need your help."

"This ought to be good." Said IF.

"What exactly is there to do at a mall?" I asked.

"...I'm sorry?" IF asked.

"Look, I've never been on a date before, and now I've said to be at the mall, and I don't even know what the hell to do there." I said.

"Bryce." IF said, as I stopped pacing back and forth. "It's a MALL, I'm sure you'll find something to do rather quickly."

"I'm hoping as much…" I said to myself.

"Well, why not join us for a quest to keep your mind off it for now." Said Compa, as we looked ahead to see we were at the guild building. "Iffy and I were on our way to go take one anyway."

"Well, I don't think it'll hurt, just so long as it's something I can go hand to hand at, since… well, I don't have my gun on me right now." I said, nodding as we walked into the building.

* * *

"Go on a quest they said, it would be fun they said!" I exclaimed, as I back flipped away from a very sharp set of claws.

"We never said this would be easy!" Said IF, as she unloaded a couple of rounds into the hide of the Ancient Dragon we were fighting. "It's hide is too thick, we'll need to switch to melee weapons to do any real damage."

"Of course we will." I muttered, flicking my wrist forward as a glob of webbing slammed into the dragon's eyes, blinding it. "He's distracted, now!"

IF dashed forwards, her katars in hand as she slashed at the back of the dragons ankles, causing the dragon to roar and fall onto it's knees.

I quickly ran up to IF, who crouched down as I jumped onto her arms, as she pushed me into the air. I quickly took aim and sent out a barrage of webbing, trapping the dragon to the ground. I landed into a roll as I turned back to IF. "NOW!"

IF nodded, as she charged forward, jumping into the air, before plunging both of her weapons into the dragon's head.

The beast didn't even get a chance to roar in defiance before it was silenced forever, the creature seemingly dissipating into a bunch of particles, as said particles turned into different items.

"I think… that's enough adventuring for today." I said, sighing, as I walked over to Compa, who was on standby. "I still don't think this 'leveling up' thing is working for me."

"I don't like to admit it, but I think you're right." Said IF. "I think I ended up with all of the EXP from that battle…"

"Just means if I want to get stronger, I'll have to do it the good old fashioned way." I said, crossing my arms. "By training in ways that DOESN'T involve giant monstrous dragons from hell."

"Suit yourself." Said IF, as she grabbed a nearby water bottle.

"I'm gonna head back to the basilicom." I said, as I put my hands in my pocket. "I think it would be a good idea to check up on Neptune about now."

"Fair enough. Compa and I still have a few more quests to finish up, so you might as well hurry on ahead." Said IF, as I nodded, running off to the basilicom.

* * *

As I walked into the basilicom, I headed straight for the elevator, as I placed my thumb to the fingerprint scanner, before pressing the top button, as the elevator started to ascend.

"...Ba da da da, da da da da da… ba da da da, da da da da da…" I started to silently sing some elevator music to myself as I rode the elevator upwards. "Ba da da, dada da, da, da da, da da da, da, da da, DA! Da da, da da da dat!"

As I finished, the elevator opened up as I walked in to find Histoire standing there with an unreadable expression on her face.

"...Uh… Hi?" I said uncertainty. "Did I do something wrong again?"

"That depends, is Neptune's current state of distress your fault?"

I sighed. "I prefer a word other than fault, makes it sound like I'm in trouble. Yes, it might."

Histoire nodded, as she let out a sigh. "She's thankfully stopped worrying so much about you know who, and seems to be… a bit more worried about something else happening tomorrow."

"...I may have asked her out in an attempt to get her to stop worrying so much about Peashy?" I said.

"...Oh… I see." Said Histoire. "...I thought it was something worse than that."

"What the hell is she doing that could make you think it was worse?" I asked.

"Well…" Histoire said looking to the side in a thousand yard stare, only to return back to normal a second later. "It's best you don't know."

"...Well, that's not ominous at all." I said, raising an eyebrow. "Thanks for letting me know though."

I started walking further inside, only to stop and turn around. "Side note: You wouldn't happen to know where Plutia is, would you?"

"I'm right behind you!"

"Gah!" I jumped forwards as I stumped to stand up straight. "DON'T _**DO**_ THAT!"

"Eh he he…" Plutia let out a giggle.

"Anyways," I began, pulling her into the living room. "How's Neptune."

"Nepy? I think she's busy shopping online?" Said Plutia.

"...Shopping online?" I asked.

"Well, I think her reasoning was I: 'need something nice for tomorrow'. Something like that…" Said Plutia.

"That… kind of makes sense now that I think about it…" I said, looking to the side. "When WAS the last time Neptune wore anything besides the same outfit."

I shrugged, before pulling my coat off, as I gave it a once over.

"Might as well try and find a new one while I'm at the mall tomorrow." I muttered, looking over the various holes, tears and whatnot.

"I could fix it…" Plutia said, as I turned to her.

"Seriously?" I asked, wide eyes. "Because if you can, I'll take you up in a heartbeat."

"It's no problem!" Said Plutia, as she took the coat from my hands. "Though it's not a plushie, I should be able to fix it up alright."

"...Right, well, I'm gonna go pass out then." I said, looking at my watch to find it was around 6:30 PM. Nodding to myself, I walked over to my room, opening the door as I climbed onto my bed.

"...Tomorrow…" I muttered. "...Let's hope things go well."


	17. Day 102: DATE START!

"Okay, you're gonna do great, this is gonna be great!"

This was the mantra I was repeating over and over and over again silently in my head, as I got ready for today. I had my shower, brushed my teeth, _finally_ got around to shaving, and was now deciding what to wear today, as I stood in the center of my room, the bath towel from my earlier shower hanging around my waist.

I lifted up a grey t-shirt, the words 'I may look calm, but the voices in my head have already killed you 3 times' were printed on the front. It was the shirt I had arrived in Gamindustri wearing.

I slid it over top of my bare chest as I grabbed a pair of jeans from my closet as I got dressed.

"Okay, calm down, you got this." I said, nodding to myself as I grabbed my phone, flipping it in the air before catching it, as I walked out.

As soon I walked out of the room, I immediately stopped in place.

"I can't do this, I can't do this, I CAN'T do this!" I spouted out, turning around on the spot, as I started walking back to my room.

"Getting cold feet?" Asked IF, as I turned around to see her leaning against the wall.

"Yes- I mean No, but yes, but also no- I'm freakin' out!" I said, in a hushed yell.

"That much, is obvious." Said IF, as she sighed, walking up to me. "Calm down, you're gonna do fine."

"Oh yeah, and Linda is a freaking saint." I said, deadpanning.

IF shook her head, as she grabbed me by the back of my shirt, as she dragged me off. "Come on, let's get going."

"H-hey! Where are you dragging me!? I HAVE RIGHTS DAMMIT!"

* * *

I sighed, as I followed IF to Compa's house.

"So explain to me how going to COMPA is going to help me out in this situation." I said, as I was finally let go as IF turned to look at me.

"Look, Compa knows Nep about as good as anyone, if not more. She's probably the most qualified out of all of us to give advice on how to make your date go perfectly." Said IF, as she rang the doorbell. "Besides, it's 10:30 AM, you need to kill time somehow that doesn't involve freaking out."

I begrudgingly agreed, as I walked up to the door as the door opened.

"Iffy! Bry-Bry!" Compa said, as she invited us in. "You ready for today?"

"Would you believe me if I said yes?" I asked.

IF turned to me. "I already filled her in on our way, so let's get down to business."

'To defeat, THE HANS!' I thought mentally, as I let out a sigh, feeling my spirits raised a tad. "Alright, what do you got for me?"

"I've known Nep-Nep for a while now, and I haven't ever seen her as down as she is now." Said Compa. "Just the act of asking her out has probably helped out."

"Okay, so that's one thing, but what do I actually do there?" I asked. "I mean, what is there to do at a mall anyway?"

"When I said you'd find something to do, I MEANT it. I'm rather certain you visited Planeptune Mall, but you WILL find SOMETHING to do there." Said IF. "I mean, there's Mini Golf, a Karaoke place, an arena for Lazer Tag, not to mention the abundance of shops and restaurants there."

"My choice, go take her to a pudding place if either of you get hungry, and if you want to get her a gift, the game store isn't a bad place either, but I think you may find other things around that could entertain you." Said Compa.

"Karaoke is a generally good idea." Said IF, nodding along to Compa. "I don't know how well you sing, so that might not be the best idea."

"I can hold a note, just not too high or my voice cracks." I said, putting a hand to my chin. "I think if I can find something then I shouldn't have many problems."

' _Then again, I doubt that this world has ANY of the songs from mine... Let's keep Karaoke off the To-Do list...'_ I thought to myself.

"Well, there's also Lazer Tag, something I think Nep won't have any complaints about." Said IF. "Though I think today's gamemode is Free For All…"

"Which leads truces out of the question…" I said to myself.

"Well, I don't think we got any more time left, the mall opens at 11, and it's about 10:40 right now." Said IF, as she stood up. "Come on, I'll get you there ASAP."

* * *

"No offense, but I think I prefer my web swinging to riding your bike with you behind the wheel…" I said, as we came to a stop at the mall. "...You got this… you got this… maximum effort…"

"You gonna be fine?" Asked IF.

"Oh yeah… it's just… I'll be fine." I said.

"You better be, because she's right there." Said IF, as she pointed behind me to Neptune, who was standing alone looking around. "You sure you're good?"

"Yeah…" I said, swallowing, as I turned back to IF and Compa. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm just a boy, about to stand in front of a girl and tell her... what the f*ck am I gonna tell her?"

"I don't know, but you better get going." Said IF, turning me around before pushing me forward, as I stumbled before catching myself, looking up to see Neptune looking at me, wearing what I would call a sundress version of her normal outfit.

"...Hey…!" I said, standing up straight, as I walked over to her, looking at her outfit. "You look… nice."

Nice was an understatement, just for the record. Her hair had been styled so it's wasn't like she had constant bed-head, as her hair had been combed down, and her d-pad clips had been swapped out for a single clip, sporting a power button on it. Her outfit as said before, was a sundress version of her normal outfit, plus what seemed to be a plain purple hoodie that had the front zipped open.

All in all, this was probably what someone would imagine Nepgear to look like if she was younger and had shorter hair. Though the look worked for Neptune.

Neptune tilted her head and looked to the right of me. "...Did you… Trip on thin air?"

"...Yes." I said, as I turned to look a the mall. "...Well, shall we?"

"Sure. Start the date event!" Neptune said, pointing to the sky like something was supposed to happen. "...Huh, thought something would have happened."

"When was the last time you heard a date start like that?" I asked her, before shaking my head. "Nevermind, let's get going."

We entered the front door's as I looked around what could essentially be classified as a food court. Emphasis on the word Court.

"Holy shit!" I muttered, looking at the large area for JUST foods.

Neptune seemed to be proud, as she stuck her chest out as she smirked. "Planeptune Mall, the biggest mall in all of Gamindustri! None have topped it, and it's known as one of the biggest places to show off new hardware, especially during the beginning of 3E."

"...Why do I feel like that was something Histoire had written down for you."

"What!? Do you have that little faith in me that you don't think I know anything substantial about the nation I rule?" Asked Neptune, pouting playfully.

"...I mean, you're not wrong…?" I said, unsure. "Then again, considering your game habits, I can assume that the E3 thing was primarily from your own knowledge."

"E3?" Asked Neptune.

"Oh, right." I said, chuckling. "It's an electronics expo where a lot of game devs and publishers show off their new games coming out, or the new hardware they're putting to sale soon. So it's called 3E here then? Good to know."

"Side note, we're technically incognito here, so let's try to keep it this way, I don't need the paparazzi on our ass all day." I said, sighing.

"Got it." Said Neptune, nodding, as she quickly pulled out a pair of familiar red glasses, before putting them on, she then took off her D-pad hair clips as her hair went a bit more straight. "This should work!"

"...You have a pair for me?" I asked, before a pair of purple sunglasses was shoved into my hands. "This works."

"Anyways, what do you want to do first?" Neptune asked, as I slid the sunglasses onto my face.

"...I heard there was a Lazer Tag place here?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "Want to have a go?"

"Hmm… Sure! Just don't pass out on me as soon as you pick up the lazer gun." Said Neptune, winking.

I snorted as we laughed on our way to the arena.

* * *

"Okay, so the current game mode is FFA…" I muttered, as I looked at the terminal at the arena. "Next game starts in 15, so we should have time to get our load out set up."

I turned to Neptune, who was busy looking over the selection of weapons. "Shall we go select our loadout?" I asked, as I walked over to her.

"I'm gonna wreck all of them…" Neptune said, picking up what I assumed to be a lazer tag variation of the Spartan Laser.

"...Part of me feels they won't let you use that." I said, sweat dropping, as I put a hand to my chin.

"Fooey!" Neptune grumbled, as she dropped the gun back down in a box labeled 'For OverKill Thursdays', that had a wide variety of different weapons and such.

"...I think we should just grab the basics." I said, grabbing a simple laser gun, along with what I assumed were this place's version of 'grenades'.

"And maybe one power weapon…" I said, grabbing a scoped DMR of sorts. "Okay, I'm ready."

As we strapped on the target vest, we walked in with a rather large group of people.

"I take it Free For All is popular?" I asked Neptune, leaning in her direction.

"Not overtly so, but it has it's fans." Said Neptune. "Especially now with the battle royal craze going on."

"Oh yeah, that." I said, rolling my eyes.

"You all have 20 minutes in there, if you get hit, your weapons won't turn back on for 10 seconds, then you're back to shooting. Eliminate the most people to win, good luck, and have fun." Said the attendant, as the door opened to an arena that was covered in darkness, before the sound of lights turning on lit up the arena, as what I could only assume to be black light lit up the arena. The neon lights from the glow in the dark paint on the walls grabbed a lot of the players' attention, while I scanned the arena.

"You have 30 seconds to get away from each other before your guns turn on. Have a good game everyone." Said the attendant as the doors closed behind us.

"Well, you heard the man, let's go!" I said, as everyone split up. I turned to Neptune, a smirk on my face. "Good luck."

"May the best gamer win." She said, as she ran ahead.

I looked around, before pulling my sleeve down, and firing a web line at one of the higher structures, and after tugging to see the strength, I zipped myself over to the perch point.

"Now…" I said, grabbing my DMLR (Designated Marksman Lazer Rifle), as I looked down the scope as I waited for the lights of the other players to turn on.

The sudden buzz of the lazer gun in my hands kicked on, as a fast moving flash of blue ran down a corridor below.

"Gotcha…" I muttered, lining up the shot, before pulling the trigger, as the once blue lights changed to a flashing red.

I fired off another web line as I zipped to a spot on the ground, as I slung my DMLR in favor of the more close quarters base lazer gun, as I kept close to the wall, engaging a tactical sweep like one I had practiced many times playing Rainbow Six Siege.

I reached a corridor with two cubes about 3 feet high and wide on either side of the arena, as the sound of feet behind me caused me to turn around, before the guy charging me suddenly had his lights flash red, causing me to duck.

"Shoot! I missed!" Said a feminine voice as I peeked over the cube to see a tuft of lilac purple hair duck behind the second cube.

"You're not a good shot Neptune, you should know this!" I said, smiling. "Thanks for the help though!"

I grabbed one of the lazer grenades as I pressed a button on this side, as I underhanded the grenade, as it rolled next to the other cube, as a bright flash sounded off, as I ran over to the cube.

"That the best you got?" I asked, running to Neptune.

"I shall have revenge!" She declared, as I broke into a sprint as the lights of her vest swapped back to blue suddenly.

"Or not, that's a good choice!" I said, vaulting through an open window as I aimed my gun forward, pulling the trigger twice, as I snagged two eliminations. "Got em!"

My vest suddenly started flashing red, as I turned around to see Neptune smirking, her lazer gun pointed at me, before she sprinted off.

"Oh this isn't over…" I said, zipping back up to the perch point from earlier, as I pulled my DMLR. "Now where are you?"

* * *

"We got… two minutes left…" I muttered, as I dropped from my perch point, as I slung the DMLR over my shoulder. "Now then, to find Neptune…"

I quickly pointed my lazer gun to the right, as the heavy stomps of feet alerted me to the player that was about to turn the corner, as I pulled the trigger, tagging the player as he rounded the corner.

"No hard feelings, right?" I asked, running forward, as I pulled out another grenade, as I tossed it into the air towards a window on a higher floor, the blue lights shining in the room telling me there were players there. A bright flash later, and I kept running.

I soon arrived back in the corridor I found Neptune the first time, as I crouched behind the square, as I waited for someone to walk through the doorway.

To my delight, Neptune walked through humming what I assumed was the mission impossible theme, as I tightened the grip on my gun, as I peeked over cover and aimed at her.

I pulled the trigger, only for Neptune to roll behind the other cube, as I ducked back down.

"So… you sure you're ready for a repeat of earlier?" I asked, peering over as I pulled the trigger a few times.

Her response was to throw one of her own grenades at me, as it hit the wall behind me and rolled up to my feet.

"Sh*t!" I shouted, vaulting over my cover, avoiding the grenade.

"Aha!" Neptune exclaimed, aiming over her cover as she fired at me, since I was now without cover, the vest flashing red once more, before both of our vests shifted to a consistent red colour.

"...Uh… what just happened?" I asked.

 _"Attention players, your 20 minutes are up, please regroup at the door so we can announce the winner."_ Said the attendant over the intercom.

"...Oh, that." I said, standing up, as I walked over to Neptune. "Damn that was a good move."

Neptune let out a smirk. "I'm a genius, I know…"

"Yeah, and you're egotistical, apparently." I rolled my eyes, as we walked back to the door.

"Now that we're all here, allow me to announce the victor." Said the attendant, as the monitor near him suddenly lit up with information. "In third place, NPC #1392, with 23 eliminations."

"In second place, Bryce, with 29 eliminations."

"Not bad, all things considering." I said, a hand on my chin.

"And in first place, Neptune with 30 eliminations." Said the attendant. "Congratulations to our top three, and we hope to see you again."

"So congrats, you won bragging rights that you beat my by one kill." I said, jokingly. "Now then, what's next on our list? I think it's about… 11:40 right now?"

Neptune nodded, as we walked over to a map of the mall. I peered at the layout of the massive labyrinth we were inside as I sighed. "I'm not terribly hungry right now… So let's go explore a bit before we move on." I said, as I started walking in some random direction.

* * *

"Ooh! Bryce, look! Look look look look LOOK!" Neptune suddenly said, as she jumped up and down as she grabbed my arm. "That GameBreak is having an event! Ooh, I wonder what it is? Some knew game event, or maybe some special time offer!"

"...Or it could be that." I said, pointing to the VR headset that looked similar to the 'Nerve Gear' from SAO, only purple, as it was placed over a NPC's head. "...I don't know about you, but trying out VR that was probably YEARS, maybe even a DECADE more advanced than my worlds, I would be crazy to not try it!"

"Then let's go!" Neptune said, dragging me along as we got inside.

"Hi, you guys want to try out the new VR headset from Planeptune RND?" Asked the spokesman.

"That was the plan, yes." I said, nodding.

The spokesman smiled, as he motioned to a spare headset on the side. "That there is the new 'Nepulus Rift'!" Said the man, as I deadpanned at Neptune's direction, as she scratched the back of her head and laughed awkwardly. "It's the first real FULL-DIVE VR Headset! We're currently having a demo test to show off the hardware."

"So we've heard." I said, as I looked down at the table in front of us, a sheet of paper and a pen with it. "So we need to sign anything?"

"Nope! Just put your first name on the list and once your turn is here, have fun!" Said the spokesperson, as I picked up the pen and handed it to Neptune.

"Ladies first?" I asked.

"Damn straight!" Neptune said, taking the pen and scribbling 'Neptune' lazily on the sheet. I followed suit, only less messy and probably more legible.

"So we just sit to the side and wait?" I asked, as I looked up from writing my name.

"Yep, we'll let you know when it's your turn." Said the man, as I walked into the store to look at all the games they had on their shelves.

"So, I've been meaning to ask…" Neptune said, as I looked over at her as she looked through a selection of Lastations games that were on the shelf. "That application on your USB with my face on it, what exactly was that? I don't think we've talked about it at all since… you know…"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "You already know it was a video game, and this lead to the realization I was a… Player?"

"Yep!" Neptune said.

"Remind me, what exactly did that title entail? Because I don't think we EVER established that kind of thing." I said, picking up a copy of what looked to be that game Neptune had at the basilicom, the one she had started playing around the time that Peashy… Oh…

I shook my head, as Neptune looked over at me. "Well, I'm not really sure what changes when you're here, but when you're… there, you primarily help strategize how we go about our fights, and if we go down in a fight, like, all of us, we normally jump right back up and start over. That's the kind of power you had out there…"

"But in here…" I began.

"In here, everything has changed, at least, that's what Histy had said." Said Neptune.

"Well, this IS the timeline the anime was following…" I muttered to myself. "Think it's our turn yet?"

"Eh, even if it isn't, we can still bug the hell out of them until it is." Said Neptune.

I smirked. "True…"

"Neptune? It's your turn!" I heard the guy up near the booth yell out.

"Well well well, speak of the devil." I said, as we walked up to the booth.

"Now, sit down in this chair. Since this is your first time allow me to explain." Said the clerk. "See, when you enter VR, the headset disables the motor functionalities of your body so that you're not moving in the real world, while you are in there."

"So basically, sit in the chair if you don't want to be a heap on the floor, got it." I said, as Neptune sat down, and had the headset placed on her.

I looked at the TV facing parallel from her, as the screen suddenly lit up, showing Neptune in a third person perspective as a menu popped up in front of her.

" _Ooh… this'll be interesting… What to pick…?_ " Said Neptune, her voice echoing through the TV, as she looked at her choices.

"Can she hear us in there?" I asked.

"While there IS a way for her to hear us, she normally won't be able to hear us." Said the Clerk.

"I see…" I said, looking at the screen, as Neptune pressed on the floating choice box in front of her.

" _Let's see… 4GO VR experience, Armageddon VFR, Workplace Simulator… Ooh, they even got The Lastation Heist! I think you'll do great at that one Bryce!_ " Neptune said in game, as I placed a hand on my face.

"God dammit Nep…" I muttered.

Neptune scrolled through a few other choices, before she selected the 4GO VR experience.

" _Let's go with this!_ " Said Neptune, as the screen flashes white. "Oh wait, no! I'm too young to die!"

I let out a chuckle as I watched this occur. The screen suddenly changed into a grassy field, as Neptune's clothing changed to look like something akin to what a paladin would wear if skirts were something they wore. It looked vaguely similar to the screenshots of the Cyberdimension Neptunia game I had saw at home before i had ended up here.

Looking back, I just realized I'm never getting my copy of the Limited Edition I had spent over a hundred on.

Damn, I really wanted that special USB…

" _Nep-ko has logged on!_ " Neptune said, as she pulled what I assumed to be a longsword out from the ground, as a number of monsters spawned. " _It's showtime people!_ "

* * *

And like that, Neptune's time ended right in the middle of facing the boss of the experience.

"Oh come on! Really! Time out at a time like that!?" Neptune's voice wasn't coming out of the TV now, so I assumed she was done.

"Come on, get up, it's my turn now." I said, sitting down as I was handed the headset. I plopped it onto my head, as I got comfortable in the chair.

"Sending you in." Said the clerk, as I my vision blur and my body lose feeling, as everything seemed to rubber band forwards, before snapping at the same place I had seen Neptune at earlier.

"...Alright, what to pick…?" I asked myself, as I scrolled through the menus. Neptune wasn't kidding when she made it seem like there were a lot of choices, there was. 4GO VR experience, Armageddon VFR, Workplace Simulator, The Lastation Heist, Goose Hunt, and a few others were there.

"...you tempted me Neptune, I said, selecting The Lastation Heist, as the area around me flashed white, before I found myself standing in front of a cardboard box, a red exclamation mark on the side of it. A single USB sat on top of the box, as I picked it up, before putting it away.

"Oh… well, this'll be interesting." I muttered, looking over my person, finding I was in an outfit similar to what I had worn during the ACTUAL Lastation Heist, except without the ASIC logos on the outfit.

I dropped the box over my head, as I was quickly brought into the warehouse. I looked around, before I was placed over on the side with a bunch of other boxes.

I took a second to wait for the coast to be clear, before throwing the box off of me, as I surveyed the area around me. There seemed to have been enough protrusions on the wall to make for an easy climb up, so I backed up before making a running start as I began to climb, finding myself soon up near the ceiling.

I walked along those beam things that you would normally find at the top of a warehouse, as I walked closer and closer to the place I was looking for.

 _Hypersomniac Games_

I dropped down, going into a roll as I snuck my way into the Mocap studio, grabbing a pair of familiar web shooters from a nearby table.

"There we go…" I muttered, firing a strand into the air, as I zipped back up to the ceiling.

I walked back over to the middle of the warehouse, before looking down to find what I remembered to be the main computer room, with the added addition of two guards in front of the doorway.

I aimed my right wrist at the one on the left, before flicking my wrist, as a small device shot out of the webshooter and stuck to the guard's left arm, as he looked down at it, before a webline shot out at the guard parallel to him, pulling them both together before the device exploded in a burst of webbing, sticking both of them to the floor.

A single guards ran out to check on them, as I jumped forwards, firing two strands of webbing on the ground on either side of him, before I pulled myself towards him, slamming my feet into his face.

"Stay down." I muttered, walking into the computer room, as I took out the USB and inserted it into the computer. A progress bar started to fill up, as I stood there, humming to myself. "Doo Doo Do Do Do… Doo Do Do Do… Doo Doo Do Do Do, Do Do Do, Do Do Do, Do Do Danana Nana!"

I pulled the USB out as the bar filled up fully. I started to walk out, when a bunch of guards appeared and started to charge at me.

"Of course…" I muttered, stepping to the side, as I dodged one of the punches thrown at me. I returned the punch in kind, before sweeping his legs out from under him, as I fired a web grenade into the crowd of approaching guards. The sudden boom followed by the onslaught of webbing caught them off guards as they stuck to the nearby floor and walls.

"Now to get out…" I muttered, running over to what I assumed to be an elevator, as I pressed a button, waiting for the elevator to come down.

Eventually it did, as the door opened up, a single guard with an assault rifle in the elevator, as he suddenly jumped backwards, raising his gun.

"Nope!" I shouted, firing a webline at the barrel of the rifle, as I pulled it to the side, kicking the guard in the knee, before I pressed the top button on the elevator, as I proceeded to punch the guard in the jugular, as he flopped to the ground.

I picked up the Assault Rifle, pulling the webbing off the barrel, as the elevator ascended, some calming elevator music playing, before it suddenly made a stop as I looked at the doors to find them opening, on the other side was a bunch of guards with rifles in their hands. I ducked to the side as a torrent of bullets ripped through the air. I peered out, pulling the trigger as I gunned down most of the guards, the elevator door soon closing after.

I sighed, as I dropped the rifle, looking to find the elevator door opening once more, only this time at the top level.

I booked it out of the elevator, almost crashing into Noire on my way out. Oh, I'm at the top of the Basilicom now…

Wait, Noire?

The sound of a familiar transformation filled my ears, as I pushed further ahead, jumping off the building as I went into a freefall…

Only for everything to suddenly stop, as I felt myself rubber band back to the select screen, the words 'Time Out' displayed above me.

I felt the headset get pulled off of me, as I returned to the land of the… semi-real? It's weird because I was in a game/anime universe but it was rea- I'm just making my head hurt now.

"Well… that was surprisingly awesome." I said, standing up, as I rolled my shoulders. "Should we go eat now?"

"Thought you wouldn't ask." Said Neptune, holding what I assumed to be goody bags for participating in the event. Most likely a pin, a pen, and a sticker or something.

We walked out of the GameBreak, as I turned to Neptune.

"Now this is going to sound stupid, but what do we have to eat here?"

Neptune placed her hands behind her back. "Let's see… there's this good pudding place nearby… There's your obligatory fast food places… There's a few restaurants here and there… and there's this good pudding place nearby-"

"You just said 'There's this good pudding place' nearby like, twice… You want pudding don't you?"

"Yep!"

I shook my head, a smile on my face. "Alright fine, let's go get some pudding."

"Yahoo!"

* * *

"It's seriously called 'The Pudding Place'?" I stated, as I looked up at the sign.

"Sponsored by Purple Heart~" Said Neptune, as she pointed to a photo of Purple Heart having a spoonful of Pudding. It reminded me of a CG from Cyberdimension… dammit, I'll never get the chance to play that…

"Right, so… pudding?" I asked.

"Let's go!" Said Neptune, grabbing my hand as she dragged me inside.

"Hello, and welcome to The Pudding Place! What can I get for you?" Asked an NPC in what I assumed where Pudding coloured clothes.

"I'll have one of your Neptunia Specials." Said Neptune, as I looked through the menu above my head. Plain, Chocolate, Mint… this place is like an ice cream store for pudding.

"...I'll have what she's having." I said, shrugging.

Neptune immediately handed the girl some amount of money, before grabbing a sign with a number on it as she pulled me to a nearby table.

I looked to my left, seeing a bunch of NPC's in what looked like Neptune Merch, eating at a table. "I assume that's some of your fans?"

"The Pudding Place is a regular meetup for fans of Moi." Said Neptune, smiling. "It's why I normally come here incognito."

"Ever gotten confused for being Neptune with your 'Disguise?'" I asked, pointing to her glasses.

"Nope." Said Neptune.

"It's honestly surprising that something so minuscule could hide literally everything else." I said. "Seriously, where did you CPUs go to learn this, the superman school of disguises?"

"Your food." Said an NPC, as she placed two plates with what looked like Caramel Pudding on top of them in front of us. "Enjoy."

"Thanks!" Me and Neptune said, as I picked up a spoon.

"Can I level with you? I've never had pudding before I got here." I said.

"You had some back at the tower at the uh…" Neptune paused as she looked to the side.

"That was my first time having it. I actually hadn't had any before that." I said. "I'm a picky eater, don't like new things, though you've already had dinner with me before, so that isn't knew news."

"Mhm!" Said Neptune, already having a spoon in her mouth.

"Right, I should keep up." I said, scooping a bit from the side, as I took a bite. "...Not bad…"

We continued our talk, going from conversation to conversation, making relative small talk as we progressed on our 'snack' break.

I finished the last spoonful of my pudding, before I looked at Neptune. "I know that you consider pudding as a straight up meal, but it really isn't for me."

"Yeah yeah, we'll grab some actual grub later, now let's go! There should be some other things to do around here!" Neptune said, dragging me off.

* * *

"No. No way in hell am I being dragged into this." I said, crossing my arms as I forced my feet to glue themselves to the floor, as Neptune tried to shove me closer, putting all of her weight into it, as I tried to keep myself from going to the next 'stop' on our date, not caring I was causing a scene.

"Oh come on, Bryce! It's only Karaoke!"

"No. No way in hell am I being forced to sing. No, I'm not doing it!"

As you can tell, I have my priorities in order.

"It'll be fun!" Neptune said, stopping her desperate shoving.

I scoffed. "Yeah, I'll have fun trying to sing any number of songs that I have NO idea how to sing… No thanks."

Neptune pouted, as she walked over to a kiosk nearby with a list of all the karaoke songs on it. I sighed, and against my better judgement, walked over to take a look at the list.

"Ooh, they got the new 5pb song here…" Neptune muttered.

I sighed, moving over to the kiosk next to Neptune's, as I started to scroll down the list.

"...No... No… Oh god no… Wait, they made a song about that?... That's just wrong… No… Not happening…"

Neptune turned to look at me, deadpanning as I scrolled down with a bored look on my face. "Come on, what's one song?"

"One to many." I said, sighing. "...I'm not getting out of this am I?"

Neptune smiled smugly. "Nope!"

I sighed, as I suddenly felt my phone's ringtone go off, and 8-bit rendition of 'Excite' by Diachi Miura started playing.

"One second." I said, picking up my phone. "Yello?"

" _Bryce? It's Histoire. I need you and Neptune to get back to the Basilicom immediately._ " Histoire said over the phone.

"What's going on?" I asked, a serious look on my face, as I put my left hand in my pocket and leaned on the nearby wall.

" _A new nation has been formed._ "

"...Oh… we'll be right there." I said, hanging up.

"What was that about?" Asked Neptune.

"...We're gonna have to cut this short." I said, kicking off the wall, walking towards an exit. "We need to get back to the Basilicom ASAP."

"Why? What's going on?"

I flicked my wrists, my web shooters unfolding from their collapsed bracelet form, as I turned back to Neptune.

"A new nation has been formed." I said, as I ran towards the doors to the mall, running out as I fired a web line at a nearby building as I pulled myself into the air, before repeating the process three more times, as I started swinging towards the basilicom, a now transformed Purple Heart flying closely behind me.

"The world can never let me have nice things, can it?" I asked myself.


	18. Day 102-cont: Transdimensional Pull

"Alright, I want you tell me this like I'm retarded." I said, crossing my arms. "You said a new nation has been formed, on R-18 island, and you DON'T want me going?"

"That is correct." Said Histoire.

"WHY!?" I exclaimed, moving my arms to the side.

"We're not going out of our way to make ourselves seem hostile." Said Histoire. "And you unfortunately have a track record of… well, you can tend to act without thinking."

"Seriously?" I sighed, scratching the back of my head. "I get why you're not letting me…"

"Just suck it up alright?" Said IF, as I turned to her. "Honestly, it's like you're a child…"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence…" I muttered, turning towards the balcony. "I'm gonna take a few to clear my head."

I opened the balcony door as I jumped over the railing, letting gravity do it's thing as I picked up speed.

I twisted in midair, firing a webline off to the side, as I swung low, before letting go at the apex of my swing, launching myself further through the air.

"Yeah right, I'm sure as hell not listening to that. R-18 island, here I come!" I shouted, landing on top of a nearby building. "Okay, so it's an island… how the hell do I get there… I can't fly, and there are no buildings to swing off of to get there…"

I looked down at the harbour. "Boating it is!"

I jumped down, swinging to slow my descent, as I ran over to a nearby boat, unwrapping the rope being used to secure it to the dock, before I jumped in, running to the driver seat. As I pushed the lever to my right all the way forward, the boat suddenly kicked back, as it tore out of the docks, jumping every now and then.

I pulled out my phone, directions to R-18 Island already cued up. "Alright, here we go!"

* * *

"...You know, it never occurred to me what would happen when I got here, huh?" I said to myself, as I pushed myself off of the ground, the flaming wreck of a boat behind me. "...No one will ever know…"

I sighed, in hindsight, Histoire was right… I am prone to do things without thinking straight.

I looked up, seeing the artillery cannons still in their neutral position.

"Huh… would've thought they'd be here by now…" I said, looking up to see 6 small figures in the distance, as they got closer and closer. "Speak of the devil."

I looked at the artillery cannons to see a pink form resting on the top of the middle cannon. I quickly decided stealth would be necessary.

I jumped to the left, rolling as I hid behind a tree, keeping an eye out for everything in front of me.

"Showtime…" I muttered, as I watched the artillery cannons start to raise up, only for them to fire out… balloons? "Uh, what?"

I shook my head. "I'll let them deal with things. It's time to do what I do best."

I moved through the brush of the trees nearby, moving so I had turned the entire way around the artillery cannons.

"Where is the entrance?" I asked myself, as I moved through the forest. "I know it's somewhere…"

"Looking for something?"

I kicked my right foot forward before spinning around to find myself face to face with Linda.

"Why am I not surprised?" I asked myself.

Linda shrugged. "They pay well."

"Compared to before? You were unemployed, I don't think you get money period for such a job." I said, flicking my wrists as my web shooters activated. "Now, you're going to show me where the hell the entrance to your secret underground base is, or else I'm going to teach you about bondage… That came out SO wrong."

Linda pulled out her trusty metal pipe as I just sighed.

"Alright, let's get this over with." I said, charging forwards, flipping over underling, before rolling to a stop behind her. I turned around firing a web shot at the incoming pipe, sticking it to the floor, kicking Linda away from her weapon, before charging at her.

Linda seemed to smirk, jumping back as she seemed to pull out a gun that seemed to have a bunch of wiring exposed, before aiming it at me and pulling the trigger.

"Woah! What the hell!?" I exclaimed, ducking behind a tree. "Since when did you have a gun!?"

"Since we started this whole gig!" Said Linda, as I slowly leaned my head out from behind the tree, waiting for her to do something.

She suddenly pulled out what looked to be a tiny bottle of sorts, the cap a solid yellow colour, with a black bottom and top, and a clear yellow centre, a strange liquid inside the bottle. She shook the bottle, before spinning the cap, as it seemed to click into place, before she lifted up her gun, slotting the bottle into a rail that was indented into the gun.

 _ **[HARD DRIVE!]**_

"Oh no…" I muttered, jumping back.

"Let's go!" Said Linda, pulling the trigger, before she suddenly was zapped as electricity ran over her body, forcing her to drop the gun. "Ow!"

"Mine!" I shouted, firing a webline and pulling the weapon over to me, pulling out the bottle as I pocketed it. "Now, what can this thing really do…?"

I pulled up my new gun as I pulled the trigger, a single shot hitting Linda dead in the chest as she was sent flying towards a nearby tree.

I walked over slowly, webbing her to the tree before crouching in front of her.

"Alright, so I'm going to ask this once." I said, pointing the gun at her forehead. "Where's the entrance?"

* * *

"See? Was that so hard?" I asked, several gunshot holes that were still smoking level next to her head on the tree she was webbed to. "No, wait, it was. Anyways, I'll be on my way."

"Hey! Let me go at least!" Linda shouted.

"Not until I know you didn't lie to me! Besides, the webbing dissolves in about an hour!" I shouted back. "I'm keeping the gun by the way!"

I eventually reached the entrance Linda was referring to, crouching down to open up the doorway before getting inside.

"Now, to find out what they're doing here…" I said silently to myself, closing the door behind me, as I started walking around. "Though first, I need a disguise…"

I looked to my right, finding a room filled with a certain familiar box.

"...that was easy…" I muttered, running over as I threw one over my head, sneaking around the underground area. "Now… where to go next?"

I kept walking, finding a room with it's door slightly ajar. "Might as well." I slowly crept over, making my way into the room before backing up against the wall in my cardboard box disguise.

There was a total of two guards in the room, as I sighed, taking out the tiny yellow bottle, as I shook it next to my ear.

"Need to figure out how to get past…" I muttered.

" _Past where?"_

I felt myself jump, as I put a hand against my mouth, making sure I didn't attract any attention, before putting the bottle next to my ear. "Hello?"

" _Hi!"_

"...Did I develop a case of schizophrenia while I wasn't looking?" I asked myself.

" _Hey… I'm not an imaginary friend!"_ Said the voice echoing around my head. _"...Wait, does that mean you're my imaginary friend?_ "

"...I'm going to say that I'm not exactly… imaginary…" I said, finding the two guards were leaving for a pee break. "Wow these guys suck at their jobs."

I snuck into the room, tossing the box over my head as I stood up. I shook the bottle again next to my ear. "So who exactly are you?" I asked. "I'm curious as to why there's someone talking to me through… I wanna say a bottle?"

" _I'm Yellow Heart!_ " Said the voice, as I felt myself stop in place. " _...Hello?"_

"...I'm uh… Edge, OnEdge." I said, nodding to myself, looking around the room for a light switch. "Nice to meet you."

" _Edge? That's a weird name!"_

"So is 'Yellow Heart'." I said, rolling my eyes. "Hey, can I call you back? There's something I need to focus on real quick."

" _Aw… Will we get to talk more later?_ " Asked Yellow Heart.

"Yes. Definetely. Sooner than you think, honest." I said.

 _"What if I think we'd be talking in a few seconds?_ "

"Okay, that, is an unfair assumption, but I'll talk when I got the chance." I said, my hand lingering overtop of what I assume was the light switch. "See you."

I moved the bottle away from my ear, as I flicked the switch up, lights from above illuminating the room around me, computers on the left of the room, some more on the right, and a command console in the middle of the room, stationed in front of this weird landing platform.

"This is weird…" I muttered, walking up to the command console. "Let's see… Enter Password?"

I looked up for a second, before typing ' _LovelyNoire'_ in the terminal, as the console lit up. "Wow, either Anonydeath needs a new password, or I'd say that was… too easy?" My attention was quickly drawn to a program on the console titled ' _Transwarp Converter'_. "...What's this supposed to be?"

I opened the program, as a whole slew of command prompts and customization windows popped up on screen. I found an option for 'Last Pull' and selected the application, as a big red button showed up on the touchscreen of the console. I let out a breath, as I pressed down on the console, as the landing pad in front of me started to glow an ethereal white.

I stepped away from the console, as the lights seemed to glow more and more, as for 'arms' seemed to extend out from the platform as they started to zap the white glow with some kind of energy, before the glow died down, in the center of the pad, was a single box.

I looked back to the console, finding it had opened up to a log page for what I assumed was for… logging. Specifically, all of these 'pulls' this thing was doing. I walked onto the platform, picking up the box, finding what I assumed to be japanese on the front, a red and blue armoured warrior on the box, a diagonal crystal in his forehead.

"...Where have I seen this guy before?" I asked myself, before I opened up the box, finding what was essentially an empty version of the bottle I had stolen from Linda. "...Neat."

I walked back over to the console, tossing the empty box to the side, as I pulled out the gun and fiddled with the empty bottle. "I still have several questions…"

I felt my right foot slam into a cardboard box, as I looked down, a cardboard box filled to the brim with different things of different origins. I put the gun and bottle away as I picked the box up and placed it next to the console, taking out what looked like an album case.

"...Paid in exposure?" I mumbled, looking at the album cover. "...Wait, Nathan Sharp!?" I flipped the album around suddenly, a sense of unease coursing through me. "...June 2018… June? It was september when I ended up here… How long has it been… really?"

I sighed, opening the the album to find a CD in mint condition. "Okay, well, at least I get to hear some new tunes when I get back…"

I shook my head, putting the album away on my person. "No no no! Stop! Focus…"

My hands seemed to immediately tear into the box, pulling out random assortments of things, a box of Cards Against Humanity, an 'Art of DOOM' book, an Xbox Controller, a package of Oreos...

"These are all… from… home." The word struck light lightning in my system, as I immediately turned to the console, knocking the box of stuff onto the floor, as I furiously scrowled through the log list, as I found each item logged into the list.

"...102 days ago…" I muttered, looking at the first and only entry at the bottom of the list. It was the only one there for the first month, before they started to re update things. "...First test… success. Pull worked like a charm. The only issue is the subject of the pull ended up in an entirely different area from the platform. I'm unsure why, but we found the energy signature for it…"

"...In the Virtua Forest…" I muttered, taking a step back from the console as I felt my hand shake. I placed my right hand over my left, letting my fingers run along the merged device fused to my skin. "...It… was never her fault… Vert had nothing to… It was… I…"

I felt my skin start to boil, as I reached for the gun and the empty bottle, as I slid the bottle onto the rail.

 _ **[FULLBOTTLE!]**_

I ignored the cry of the weapon, as it shook in my hand, or my hand shook so much that my weapon did as well. My breathing became heavier and heavier, as I slowly raised the gun up, before pulling the trigger.

 _ **[STEAM ATTACK!]**_

A giant blast of pressurized steam rocketed out of the barrel, impacting the console as it seemingly exploded in a matter of seconds. I quickly turned to the computers on each side of the room, giving them a similar fate.

I finally turned to the launch pad, as I my left hand clenched in anger. I pointed the gun at the target of my hate, but the sound of the door opening behind me garnered more attention.

I spun around, pointing the weapon straight at the metal face of Anonydeath, Peashy and Rei Ryghts next to him.

"You…" I growled out, as my teeth clenched shut.

"Oh… It seems you found the Transwarp Pull…" Anonydeath said, sighing. "I was worried about that, and here I'd hope we'd come to an agreement…"

"Agreement!?" I exclaimed, as Rei flinched from the sound of my voice. "If you haven't noticed, you mother f*cker- You pulled me from MY life, into this shit fest of a a world, for the sake of testing a machine, and you DIDN'T, think I'd be LIVID!?"

Anonydeath shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk."

I clenched my left hand, snapping causality in two, as I let out one of the most inhuman roars I've ever yelled in my life, as I repeatedly pulled the trigger, over and over and over.

I let causality snap back into place, as Anonydeath was suddenly slammed with the force of the weapon in my hands, knocking him out of the doorway. I pulled the empty bottle out of the gun, before turning back to the launchpad, pulling the trigger over and over again, the machinery beyond repair when I was done with it.

I let out heavy breaths, as I quickly bolted for the door, sliding underneath the tackle that Peashy tried to hit me with, as she suddenly transformed.

"Get back here!" She shouted, as I skidded to a stop and ran down the hallway, flipping off Anonydeath while I did so.

"This place is like a maze…" I muttered, running out the way I came, as I found myself suddenly tackled by Yellow Heart.

"You're not going anywhere!" She said, as she lifted me higher into the air. I clenched my hand, splitting cause and effect, as I maneuvered onto her back, as I grabbed hold of her hair, returning time to it's usual flow.

"What-HEY! LET GO!" She shouted, as I pulled on her hair like the rains on a horse.

"Not now, first, you're taking me home!" I shouted, as she started to fly around in an attempt to get me off. "I said your flying me to Planeptune!"

I pulled to the left, as she suddenly jerked in that direction, as we began the journey to the nation I was occupying, a constant battle for control. There might have been words to be said while we were up in the air, but I was too blinded by anger at the time to really say anything other than swears.

Yellow Heart was no different. Eventually, I saw the Nation slowly come into view. I let a sigh escape my throat, before I was suddenly flipped off my ride, as Yellow Heart Dive bombed me.

"I got you now!" She shouted, as I clenched my left fist, Causality stopping. I raised my let arm up, firing a webline at Yellow Heart, as I started swinging to gain momentum. When I felt I finally had enough, I swung towards the nation, and let go of the webline, releasing causality.

Yellow Heart ended up slamming into the water, as I flew through the air towards the nation. A sudden thought occured to me as I closed in.

"...Am I even going to get close enough to web to another building?" I asked myself, as I felt myself lose altitude. "Oh shit!" I shouted.

It seemed I had someone looking out for me for once in my life, as a figure caught me from my free fall. I looked up, finding the relieved face of Purple Heart, as I let out a sigh. "Do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you?"

"...A while?" I asked.

"Four hours. That was AFTER, we got back." Said Purple Heart, as she gained a look on her face. "...Care to explain why you were on R-18 Island?"

"...I'll explain when I get back." I said, a frown on my face.

Purple Heart's face also grew sad, as we slowly made our way back.

* * *

"Do you have any idea what the consequences of your actions might have been?" Asked Histoire, as I sat on the Sofa with everyone around me. The four CPUs were sitting to my left, with IF, Compa and the Candidates to my right, Histoire to my front. Plutia… was sitting to my right on the sofa, because apparently she didn't understand the atmosphere right now.

"..." I kept quiet, my mind going through the loops and bounds as it processed the information I was given a few hours earlier over and over.

"We went to try and avoid conflict, and you went off and stole a boat, and went to the island!" Said Noire, as I took an intake of breath through my nose. Noire seemed to stop as she looked at me. "Did you just… are you crying?"

"...I'm sorry…" I said, a shaky breath rolling out of my throat, as I raised my head, tears welling up in my tearducts. I turned my head to Vert. "...I'm sorry… It wasn't your fault…"

I muttered the last words to myself, as I looked at the floor in front of the CPUs.

"...What do you mean… it wasn't your fault…?" Asked Vert, as the tears started to roll down my face. "...Bryce?"

"...AAAAAUUUUUUUGHHHH!" I let out the most painful scream I ever had, as I slipped off the sofa and onto the floor, slamming my right hand onto the floor in anger. "...I'm sorry… I'm sorry…. I'm sorry…"

"Woah, hey! Bryce, calm down…" Neptune said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "What… happened there?"

"...A transwarp pull happened." I said, as I leaned back, eyes not really focusing on anything. "That's what the program was called at least…"

"Transwarp… Pull?" Asked Blanc.

"...It… Would pull things from another dimension… to here…" I said, taking out the now dubbed empty 'Fullbottle' and the gun as I placed them on the table. "These… are a few examples…"

I pulled out the Paid in Exposure album I had taken with me. "And this…"

Vert looked at the fullbottle in intrigue, while Uni handled the gun. "...They had…" I choked out. "Had a log table… of all the things they 'pulled' from this dimension…"

I closed my eyes, as I let out another breath. "Oh… Oh god…" I muttered. "A hundred… and two days ago… I awoke in the Virtua Forest."

I looked at everyone with a blank expression. "...One hundred and two days ago… their first pull attempt was a success… the only issue, was that the subject was brought to the Virtua Forest."

I let the information sink in, as I let my head hang. "...I'm… going to go take a nap… I… I'm so… Tired…"

I picked up the album, as I walked over to my room, closing the door behind me. I walked over to my laptop, putting the CD into the computer, as I plugged my phone in.

"...Old wounds… never heal huh…?" I sighed, as I crawled on top of my bed, and assumed the fetal position, as I shuddered, letting tears fall once more.

The door to my room opened once more, before closing slowly soon after. I felt a weight press onto the bed, as Neptune lied down next to me. "...It's going to be okay…" She said, as I let myself uncurl, rolling to the girl on my left. "We'll get through this… Together."

I weakly nodded, as my arms wormed their way around her, as I pulled her into a hug. It was probably the weakest hug I've ever given, but it was the one I needed the most.


	19. Day 103: Peashy, and the CPU Memory

My eyelids cracked open, the sleep collecting around my tear ducts cracking and breaking as my eyes opened. My vision blurred, before focusing in on the sleeping form in front of me, a head of purple hair huddled up eye level with me.

A pair of lilac eyes opened a few seconds later, as Neptune gave a smile. "Morning." She said, as I nodded, putting a hand over my mouth. "Morning." I said back, as I blinked once.

"What's with the hand?" Asked Neptune.

"Morning breath." I said, like it was obvious. "...You know, I don't think the smaller one should be acting like the larger comforting one."

A sudden blinding light cut me off, as the next thing I new, Purple Heart was looking at me with a smile on her face. "This more qualified?"

"...I'm still taller than you." I said, smirking.

I watched as Purple Hearts cheeks puffed out, before another flash of light erupted in front of my face, Neptune giving me a dirty look. "I can't help but wonder if you're just trying to blind me…" I muttered, as I sat up. "Okay, I'm going to go clean up… I'll be out in a few."

"Okay... I'll be here… sleeping…" Neptune said, before covering herself with more of the comforter. I let out a light chuckle, before walking to the bathroom connected to my room.

"Now… I need to shave, brush teeth, shower, and everything else I do in here…" I muttered, taking my shirt off. "...Well, get busy living, or get busy dying…"

* * *

"Okay, what exactly is happening here?" I asked Nepgear, as she was fiddling with the gun I had stolen yesterday.

"I've never seen technology like this!" Said Nepgear, turning to me, the gun now a deep purple, with white lines running through it. The exposed wires now covered up by what seemed to be meters measuring output levels. "What you got here is a fully functioning transformation device!"

"...Wait, a what?" I asked, as she handed me the device, before she picked up the empty full bottle.

"It's a device that uses these…" Nepgear looked at the bottle for a second in thought. "I'll have to think of a name for them later, but the bottles can store specific essences, and then can be used in this gun to transform! I'll call it… The Nepsteam Gun!"

"...So basically…" I said, taking the gun out of her hands, before pulling the Hard Drive full bottle out of my pocket.

"Woah! Where'd you get that?" Asked Nepgear.

I started shaking the bottle. "Linda had it. I may have stolen it from her when I was there." I said, sliding the cap to the side, locking it open, before sliding it up the rail into the gun.

 _ **[HARD DRIVE]**_

"Ooh!" Nepgear's eyes had sparkles in them, as she took the gun from my hands, as she raised it up, twisting and turning the weapon around and she inspected it, the gun playing it's usual standby tune. "I wonder what happens if you pull the trigger…?"

"I-I wouldn't do that if I were you!" I said, as she raised the gun up.

"What do you mean? I've done a whole bunch of scans on the gun, and it specifically utilizes these kind of bottles to transform! Why wouldn't I try it out?" Asked Nepgear, before she pulled the trigger. " _ **Access!**_ "

 _ **{MISS MATCH!}**_

"Huh?" I asked, as Nepgear suddenly got electrocuted, as what seemed to be yellow smoke started flowing out of the gun. "Oh shit! Nepgear!"

"I-I'm f-f-fine…" She stuttered out as she shook. I pulled the gun out of her hands, waving away the smoke as I pulled out the full bottle. "I see the… new sounds are working…"

"You… included new sounds?" I asked, as she got a hold of herself.

Nepgear nodded, walking over to her computer as she pulled up some blueprints of the gun. "I've spent an uncertain amount of time filling in some of the blanks the weapon was missing, I had a program implanted that automatically generates a phrase for whatever the gun is doing." She said, picking up the empty fullbottle. "...What if you insert the empty one?"

"Already tried that." I said, taking the bottle from her hand as I inserted it.

 _ **[FULLBOTTLE!]**_

"Full bottle?" Asked Nepgear, as she put a hand to her chin. "But it's empty."

"I assume that's just what they're called. So, Fullbottle, like one word." I said, taking the bottle out. "It only triggers an attack, so it can't really do anything…"

Nepgear sighed. "That's a bit of a shame. Though the mystery as to why we can't use the Hard Drive Fullbottle is confusing."

"That's what a mystery is though…" I deadpanned, only to get pouted at. Oof...

Let me say again, Oof…

"Not that! From the plans and everything, it should work FINE! It's like there's this force that the bottle is putting up… Like the energy is rejecting it…" Said Nepgear, as she put a hand to her chin.

"What's all this about…?" Asked a voice, as we turned to see Plutia in her usual attire, her sleepwear, at the door to Nepgear and Neptune's room. "Some of us are trying to sleep you know…!"

I raised an eyebrow. "It's eleven AM though…" I said, looking at Plutia. "I mean, yeah I can agree with sleeping in till 2 PM, but really?" I felt a sudden chill up my spine, as I shook my head rapidly, feeling much safer behind the majorly smaller Nepgear.

"Sorry Plutia… we were trying to figure out-" Nepgear began, before I cut her off.

"We were confused about something and we'll try and be more quiet…" I said, before sighing. "...So while you're here Plutia, I wanted to ask about the appearance of Peashy…"

The room got a bit quiet at this, as I let out a sigh. "Look, you said she became a CPU?" I asked.

"Yeah, it was a bit of a shock to all of us." Said Nepgear. "Who knew…"

I turned to Plutia. "...How exactly… DID she become a CPU? Last I checked, she was a normal girl… A rather aggressive one, but still."

Plutia looked off to the side and seemed to refuse to look at me. "Well… It might have had something to do with this item from my home…"

"...Wait, what?" I asked, as Plutia squirmed in place.

"...She… might have come into contact with a memory?" Plutia said, as I looked at Nepgear.

"...Okay, I am SO much more interested in this development than our current one. Can you get Neptune and Histoire so we can talk about this?" I asked Nepgear, as I placed the gun down, picking up the empty full bottle.

"Sure, I'll be right back!" Nepgear said, as I moved to the main room with Plutia.

"...So… what is this all about again?" I asked, before a sudden alarm started blaring from the tower. "What the-!?"

"What's going on?" Asked Plutia.

"I don't know, this hasn't happened before!" I said, as I stood up. "Histoire!?"

The tiny fairy quickly flew over to us, as Nepgear ran out, IF and Compa following shortly after. "This isn't good."

"Oh, no? I couldn't tell!" I said.

IF crossed her arms, as she looked at me. "This isn't the time for your sarcasm, Bryce."

"Oh, really? What time is it for? Because honestly I'd LOVE TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON!" I said, as Histoire coughed into her hand.

"It appears we're under attack by the rebels from R-18 Island. They're attacking the south side of Planeptune, in one it's villages." Said Histoire. "We already have a guild force on its way, IF, please go join them quickly."

"Understood!" Said IF, as the alarms turning off.

"Neptune, I want you and Nepgear to go as well, it seems Peashy is currently there as… Where's Neptune." Asked Histoire.

"Last I saw her, she was asleep in my room." I said, as everyone looked at me. "...What? I was having a troubled day. You can't fault me for being in the same bed as my girlfriend, can you? Side note: WOW that is a new feeling… My girlfriend… Jesus that's a new one…"

"Then Nepgear, you go with IF to the blockade and hold Peashy back." Said Histoire. "Bryce, you try and get Neptune up and going."

"Got it!" I said, walking over to my room, only to find the door locked. "Uh… Neptune? You awake?" Silence was the answer I received. "Hey, so uh, Peashy is uh… attacking our borders? We kinda need you right now? Can you open the door, I have my keys so I mean, I can easily open it myself, but it's less work for me to open it if you can."

I felt my pockets, finding I actually didn't have my room keys. "...Okay I lied about the room keys, they're in the room right now and I kinda need them to open this door so we can talk, alright? ...Okay, I'm just going to let you sleep some more…"

I banged my head against the door, before walking back to Histoire, Compa and Plutia. "Yeah, she's not coming out. I also kinda left my keys in the room so I can't get in. I would try to blast lock… but the last time I tried that in pathfinder, I always just ended up breaking the lock even MORE stuck so…"

"We'll have to work on getting Neptune out of her shell later, for now we need to- ABABABABABABABABA-" Histoire suddenly erupted into this string of yelling, as we all looked at Histoire.

"...You okay there Histoire?" I asked.

* * *

" _I'm sorry about my abrupt calling, but I finally figured a few things out with the new information you have for us._ " Said Mini Histoire, displayed Via Hologram in the Sharicite Room. " _According to the data, that CPU is evidently the great presence we've been searching for."_

"That's exactly what I feared." Said Histoire.

"So wait, is that why Peashy knew who me and Iffy were before we met?" Asked Compa.

"Hate to be that guy, but it's Iffy and I." I said.

"Ignoring Bryce's comment." Histoire began, (hey!), turning to Compa. "Yes, it's probably right to assume that she knew the two of you from another dimension."

"This is really complicated…" Said Compa.

"I'm following it just fine." I said.

"Not everyone is you Bryce…" Plutia said, as I rolled my eyes.

" _I don't mean to sound too alarmed or anything, but there's a large portion of our world that's coming completely undone right now! \\( ´Д`;)/"_ Said Miny Histoire, a small emoticon appearing next to her.

"Hold on!" Histoire let out a gasp. "Do you think the area the rebels are claiming is Peashy's Country in the other world?"

"Oof… that's not good." I said.

" _Probably. So we need Plutia to bring her back here, as quickly as possible, ((((;°Д°)))) even if it means using extreme force._ " Said Mini Histoire.

"Not a fan of extreme force…" Said Plutia, twirling her hair around.

"When were you NOT!?" I asked aloud, getting looks. "Um, hello? HDD anyone?"

" _We can't have misgivings it'll endanger our country too if we don't bring her back, (Д;)!"_ Mini Histoire said, as she floated over to Plutia.

"I know that, but still…" Plutia lamented.

"Hey, so I've been meaning to ask, how… even DID Peashy become a CPU?" I asked, as the others turned to face me. "She's… a lot younger than any of the other goddesses, and you say this like you didn't know from the start, so she couldn't have been one originally in your universe…"

" _Yes, it's true. Peashy most likely found herself accidentally activating a CPU Memory._ " Said Mini Histoire.

"...Mind filling us in on what that even is?" I asked, as Plutia seemed to dig into her pocket.

"It's one of these!" Said Plutia, pulling out a small diamond shaped crystal, purple in colour. It had what looked like those lines you'd find on a computer board running through the crystal, a translucent power button symbol in the center.

" _Plutia!? Where did you get that!"_ Asked Mini Histoire, as we looked at the crystal in Plutia's hand.

"I found it…" Said Plutia. "I think I forgot it in my pocket when I made the trip here…"

I stared at the crystal in Plutia's hand in thought. This… could be big. One on hand, I could find myself given the crystal, which would give me that 50/50 percent chance of success, even though that feels utterly impossible now, given Victory and Re;Birth 3 made it pretty clear that 'Almost' anyone important who used it had got the good side of the coin flip.

On the other hand...

I pulled the empty full bottle out of my pocket, before sliding the shielding cap open, and pointed it at the crystal in Plutia's hand.

"What are you doing?" Plutia asked.

"I don't know." I said, before specks of light started to emanate from the crystal, flowing into the bottle, at a rapidly increasing rate.

"Ooh… Pretty…" Said Compa, as she leaned in.

I looked at her. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I have no idea what would happen if you got in the way of this…"

"What exactly is happening?" Asked Histoire, as she and Mini Histoire looked at the light show, before it slowly died down, a faded crystal in Plutia's hand, and a purple fullbottle in mine, a diamond indentation on the front, with computer lines running along the bottle.

"This… is what a full, well, fullbottle looks like." I said, closing the shielding cap. "This… is a lot more… energetic than the Hard Drive one…"

Plutia looked at the Core in her hand. "Woah… The core crystal's all faded…"

" _It is?"_ Asked Mini Histoire.

"Probably due to the essence inside of it is… inside the bottle." I said, shaking the bottle. "Now, I think we have a girl to bring home?"

"Right, we'll continue the conversation later." Said Histoire, as Mini Histoire nodded, cutting off the connection. "For now, Bryce, I want you to get Neptune out of her stupor. Plutia, Compa, you can help as well."

"Right." I said, walking out of the room, before I looked at the bottle in my hand. "...What can I do with you…?"

"Bryce…?" Plutia asked, as I turned around.

"Yeah?" I asked, as Plutia held out the empty core crystal. "Um…"

"I want you to have it!" Said Plutia.

"I'm sorry what?" I asked, as she rather forcibly put the faded crystal into my hand.

Plutia smiled. "Well, I want you and Neppy to be happy, and Neppy can't be happy if you're dead in 70 years."

"One, thanks, was trying to keep that thought out of my mind. Two, I'll at least last another 10 after that…" I said, sighing. "But you're right, thanks. Side note: I just use it and I become a god? How many of you are there in your universe?"

"There's five, if you count Peashy…" Said Plutia, nodding to herself in thought.

"...I… Figured there'd be more?" I said.

"The memories have a REALLY tiny chance of spawning…" Said Plutia, "And...well… The CPU Memory _MIGHT_ just have a 50/50 percent chance of it working?" Said Plutia, as I raised my eyebrow.

"So what? It doesn't work?" I asked. "...The other 50 percent is bad isn't it?"

"You turn into a monster." Said Plutia.

"Jesus…" I said, holding a hand to my head. I knew this already, but the thought is still terrifying.

"Don't worry about it! You'll be fine!" Said Plutia, putting a hand on my arm.

"Yeah, and besides, I probably have like, what, 10-13 years before I hit my 30s. I can probably wait those out before thinking too hard about it…" I said, walking over to Neptune and Nepgear's room. "Now, to modify my gun."

"What about Neppy?" Asked Plutia, as Compa walked up behind us.

"Need to do this real quick…" I said, pulling up the blueprints for the gun off Nepgear's computer, before highlighting the rail slot of the weapon, and sending it to the printer. "Give me a second to just add this…"

In a matter of seconds, the rail was finished, and I got to work on adding it to the gun, and soon, the gun had two rails!

"...What was the point of that exactly, Bry-Bry?" Asked Compa.

"Well… I'm hoping that the new fullbottle will counteract the issues the Hard Drive one is giving the gun, but… only one way to find out." I said, before walking over to my bedroom door. "Okay, so, let's break this door down."

I pointed the gun at the doorknob, and fired, blowing a hole in the door where the knob used to be. "Ha! Suck it d20 rolls! I still got it!"

I pushed the door open, finding Neptune curled up on the bed, the Peashy plushie in tow.

"...If things start not going well, I need you to help out." I said to Compa and Plutia, as I walked over to the bed, sitting down beside Neptune. I looked at her, finding she was awake, but was out of focus, so she probably didn't even feel the extra weight on the bed. I leaned in close, before putting a hand on her right shoulder, as I lifted her into a sitting position, much to her reluctance. "Hey, you gonna just lay here all day? I get wallowing in your misery is something that happens, but you need to get up when it's like noon, at least."

I sighed. "Besides, you have the people to protect, and right now the southern side of planeptune doesn't seem so protected…"

"...But I…" Neptune began, as she looked down at the Peashy Plushie next to her. "I just… I can't… That's P-ko up there…"

"Yeah, I know. But right now… Hey…" I said, turning her face to look at me. "...Yeah, you look like shit right now."

"How is that supposed to make me feel better!?" Neptune asked, glaring at me.

"Well, it made you more angry than sad, didn't it?" I asked, before sighing. "Look, I get it. That's Peashy, and as much as we know it's our duty to, I don't wanna fight the little wasp either. But I'd be out there right now if I was in your position."

"Maybe you're capable of that… but me…?" Neptune mumbled out. I looked over at the door to the room, and motioned Plutia to come in as backup.

"So you can't do it." Said Plutia, walking into the room. "There's nothing wrong with that.

"Huh?" Neptune tilted her head, as Plutia sat down across from us.

"Let's just stay here. It'll be totally cool. Lying around, playing games…" Said Plutia.

Neptune let out a sigh. "That's a nice thought, but… even I can't play games now." She said.

"Why not?" Asked Plutia. "If you're not fighting, what's the difference?"

Neptune looked down at the bed. "I play games, because I wanna have fun with my friends. Not escape reality…"

I looked off to the side. 'No, I totally played games for that reason. Best not to speak up right now.' I thought internally.

Neptune gasped, as her eyes widened. "I see now… that's exactly what I'm doing…" She said, tightening her grip on the Peashy plush beside her. She suddenly got off of the bed, as she looked at the two of us with a determined look in her eyes.

"...Let's go get Peashy back." I said, stepping off the bed, placing a hand on Neptune's shoulder.

* * *

"Why'd she have to do a barrel roll!?" I heard Purple Sister ask, as Purple Heart and I zoomed towards the battleground.

"When we get close, drop me off. I'll go in for a surprise round." I said, taking the Nepsteam Gun out of my old holster.

We watched as Yellow Heart slammed into Purple Sister's front, as we closed in. "Now!" I said, as I felt gravity suddenly take hold. I watched from high in the air as Purple Heart dive bombed Purple Sister, as said Candidate was sent flying by one of Yellow Hearts attacks.

"Neptune…" Said Purple Sister, as Purple Heart caught her.

"Sorry it took so long to get here, Nepgear…" Said Purple Heart.

Purple Sister reformed her wings, before stepping away. "It's okay, but sis…"

"Hey come on! I'm not done playing yet!" Shouted Yellow Heart.

"Then you can have some of this!" I shouted, my foot finally slamming into the back of Yellow Heart, as I jumped back off of her, kicking her away in the process. "You okay there Nepgear?"

"I'm fine! What about you?" She asked. "You're falling!"

"...Oh yeah." I said, before clenching my left fist, causality separating, as I landed on the ground, fine. "So glad I don't need to deal with the effect of some of these drops when I do that…" I returned causality to normal, as I looked up at Purple Sister. "I'm good!"

"Hey, that was a cheap shot!" Said Yellow Heart.

"Well you'll forgive me then." I said, as I smirked. "Hey! Want to see something cool?"

Purple Sister and Purple Heart looked at me in confusion, while Yellow Heart immediately bought the bait.

"Cool? Show me!" She shouted.

"You asked for it…" I said, as I took out the two fullbottles, giving them both a shake, before I snapped the shielding caps into their open positions, and then inserted the Hard Drive Fullbottle into the first slot on the Nepsteam Gun.

 _ **[HARD DRIVE!]**_

"Ooh… there's that weird feeling again…" Said Yellow Heart, shuddering.

I took the second bottle, the one filled with the CPU Memory's essence, as breathed in deeply. "Please work." I said, sliding it up the newly added second rail, both bottles locking into place.

 _ **[CPU MEMORY!]**_

Two symbols appeared overtop each Full bottle. The one overtop of the Hard Drive bottle being that of a yellow hard drive, with a bunch of electronic lines running through it, while the one overtop of the CPU Memory Bottle had a similar look, only a diamond shape took over where the hard drive was on the first image.

 _ **{DIVINITY MATCH!}**_

Both images seemed to merge together, a sole diamond with a power button in it's center displaying, before the image spun, shrinking back into the gun. A techno beat started to reverberate in the air, as I smirked, raising the gun to the air.

" _ **HENSHIN!**_ " I shouted, pulling the trigger.

 _ **{ACCESS!}**_

A yellow smoke poured out of the gun, as I felt it wrap around me. Sparks flew off of me, as I felt what I would assume it would feel like for your clothes to suddenly shift what they were made of an change into something entirely different.

What felt like spandex tightened around me, as small pieces of armour started to line my chest, legs, knees, and forearms. I felt my hair raise, before it fell back into place.

The smoke finally faded, as I stepped out, feeling empowered. I ran a hand through my hair, only to stop to find it seemed to have gained yellow highlights. "The hell? Must be a side effect…" I muttered, looking at my forearms, finding strange gauntlets covering them. "Neat."

"Woah… Okay let's fight now!" Shouted Yellow Heart as she zoomed towards me.

"Huh, oh shit!" I shouted, bringing my arms up in an x formation to block the attack.

As Yellow Hearts claws slammed into the gauntlets on my forearms, I watched as a pair of similar arms ejected out of the gauntlets. "...Oh that's cool." I said, swinging my arms out as I pushed Yellow Heart off of me.

"...Can I fly…?" I asked myself silently, before I watched Purple Sister fly off. "Huh?" Seconds later, I saw Neptune fall to the ground, out of HDD. "Oi, Neptune!"

"Listen here, from now on you're playing with me!" She shouted, as I ran over to her. "And I make the rules, so do your worst, P-ko!"

"You sure about this?" I asked. Neptune nodded, before I looked back at Yellow Heart. "...Mind if I stay? It'd be a shame if I wasted this henshin on something like blocking an attack."

"If things go south, have my back, but not unless I say." Said Neptune.

"Got it." I muttered back, taking a step back.

"Here comes a big one, you ready!?" Yellow Heart exclaimed, spinning her right arm around in circles, before charging at Neptune. I watched silently as Neptune took the full force of the attack, landing off of her feet.

"...This works, stop questioning if it's okay to just watch…" I muttered silently, as I let out a sigh. "Neptune's got this."

I watched as Neptune stood up shakily, only to get slammed by Yellow Heart, who was doing moonsaults before she hit Neptune, a giant cloud of dust and dirt rising up from the impact.

Yellow Heart laughed, before she flew out of the degrees. She suddenly stopped as the dust cleared, Neptune hunched over the ground, struggling to get up. "That's it?" She asked. "You're already done?"

"Not this Neptuna…" Said Neptune, as she stood up. "I don't go down that easily."

"And you know that too… right, P-ko?" Asked Neptune, as she turned to face Yellow Heart.

"Nep...tuna?" Yellow Heart seemed to stop, before she swung the claws on her right hand at Neptune, knocking her off her feet. "I don't know you!"

Neptune skidded to a stop a few feet away, regaining her balance. "No, you just forgot. But I promise, you know who I am."

"Wow, do I wish I had popcorn…" I muttered, watching the scene in front of me.

"No I don't!"

"You do too!"

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do!"

Oh jesus, it's like their five… Kinda makes sense in hindsight.

Yellow Heart seemed to growl, before she swung her arm back. "No I don't! No I don't!" She cried, swinging forward, knocking Neptune to the floor.

"You're weak. And I'm bored." Said Yellow Heart, looking at the downed Neptune. "I don't want to play with you."

I watched as Yellow Heart turned to me, as I moved my foot back. "Oh shit, right, I'm still here… Uh, hi?" I asked, as I extended the claws from my gauntlets.

The next moment, Yellow Heart suddenly was kicked from behind by Neptune, the duo landing on the ground, Yellow Heart on her knees, both her wings and claws dissipating.

"Only weak people call the other Weakling, Weakling." Said Neptune.

"You're contradicting yourself!" I shouted.

Yellow Heart looked up at Neptune, before she grit her teeth, and swung at Neptune, her fist impacting the side of Neptune's face. "I hate you!" She screamed, swinging her fists with wild abandon. "I hate you! I hate you, I hate you! I hate you!"

Yellow Heart pulled back her arm one last time, before throwing her punch, tears in her eyes. "I HATE YOU!"

"...You can't step in right now… You can't step in right now…" I told myself, gritting my teeth at the scene in front of me. "...Don't you dare step in you mother fu-"

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" Yellow Heart continued to scream, throwing fist after fist at Neptune, who continued to take every single one. "HATE! YOU!" Her punches started to become more and more like a child having a tantrum, before Neptune finally grabbed Yellow Heart's right arm. "Huh!?"

"I got you now…. P-ko!" Said Neptune, before an armoured claw slammed into the top of her head.

"Let me go!" Shouted Yellow Heart, as she started to float into the air, dragging Neptune with her, repeating her attack with every shout. "Stop it! Go away! Get off me!"

Neptune raised her right arm in defence, as she grit her teeth. "I won't… Let you go!"

"Jesus, she looks like shit right now…" I said, as Yellow Heart continued to beat on her. "Just a bit more… come on Neptune…"

"Never again!" Shouted Neptune.

The next thing I knew, the both of them were in the air, Neptune holding onto Yellow Heart for dear life.

"HOLY SHIT!" I shouted, running after them on foot. "I know this form is great and all, but you COULDN'T GIVE ME THE ABILITY TO FLY RIGHT NOW!? COME ON!"

A sudden flash of yellow emerged in the air, as I saw Neptune start falling, a small form enwrapped in a hug with her.

"Oh shit, they're falling!" I shouted, as I ran towards them. "Okay, so I'll probably break my legs doing this, but honestly, I've attempted to put myself in greater harm than this, so what's the deal!"

I reached the cliffside, only to see the two splashdown in the river between. I let out a sigh. "Well, at least things could be worse."

I looked up, finding Purple Sister in the air. I gave her a wave, taking the two bottles out of the Nepsteam Gun, reverting my transformation.

I looked down at the two soaking wet girls curled up on the side. I smiled, before I suddenly fell to my knees. "Oh god…" I muttered, before I hunched over, coughing up blood. "...That's not supposed to happen…"

The area around me started to fade to black, as I felt myself empty my stomach, and fell over.


	20. Day 105-Present: In Our Final Moments

"...Eugh… Why does my mouth taste of iron…?" I groaned out, my mouth dry. I blinked my eyes open, finding a blurry white room. "...I hope I'm just delirious right now because finding myself awake in a blurry white room doesn't give me the best of hopes…"

"You're awake! That's good." Said a voice to my left, as I tilted my head towards the source. A blurry image of someone with rosy pink hair filled my vision, but because of the… well, _blurriness_ , I couldn't make anything out about them. "One second, I'll be right back with Lady Purple Heart and Purple Sister."

"...Huh?" I asked as I watched the form leave. "...Okay, so I'm not dead… That's… okay, I guess." I sighed, closing my eyes as I stretched out my face in a yawn. "Right… The battle with Peashy… Everything should be fine but…"

"Bryce!" A voice shouted as I felt a weight suddenly lean on my chest.

"Gah!" I grunted, opening my eyes as I looked over at the undeniable form of Neptune, my vision slowly clearing up. "Chest… Hurt… Ow…"

"Oh right!" Said Neptune, getting off of my chest, as Nepgear walked in, looking a bit out of breath.

"Big Sis… please stop running ahead of me in these kinds of situations…" Nepgear said, out of breath. Neptune laughed, as I blinked my eyes a few more times, vision returning to its clear state. "Bryce… It's good to see you awake. We were worried you'd be out for a while."

"Speaking of… How long was I out this time?" I asked, swallowing.

"Oh, it's nothing major! You were out for a day at the latest." Said Neptune, waving her sister off. "We were worried we'd end up with another few days out of commission like the last… two… three times? Wow, you sure have a knack of ending up in the hospital..."

"...Yeah… The more I think on things the more I start to question whether this qualifies as me going insane..." I said, looking to the side. "...You know what, can I sit up now? It's weird lying all the way down like this."

"Okay! I think the button is here somewhere…" Neptune said, fiddling with the remote for my bed. Nepgear quickly ran over to her sister's side so Neptune didn't end up breaking my back accidentally.

"...Hey guys… What exactly happened after the fight with Peashy?" I asked as Neptune and Nepgear looked at each other, before looking back at me.

"Well, Peashy is staying with us until the end of the week so we can send her back to the Ultradimension…" Said Nepgear. "And Eden is no longer functioning without its CPU, so all of its civilians-"

"Brainwashed Women." Neptune cut into the side.

"...Are back to normal. The war is over at this point." Said Nepgear. "Histoire… is still dealing with most of the aftershocks, but it should be all fine in the end!"

"Well, that's good," I said, as I stretched my shoulders, and continued down my arms, and to my right hand. "...Hey… Is it normal to not feel your left hand? Because I don't right now… Wait am I having a heart attack!?"

"No no no! You're okay! No heart attack!" Said Nepgear, waving her hands in a panic.

"...Yet." Neptune mumbled to the side.

"Sis!"

"...What does she mean by that?" I asked as Nepgear looked at her sister with a small glare on her face.

"He'd find out sooner or later, might as well break it to him now?" Neptune said as I felt my eyes narrow.

"What. Happened?"

"...Well…" Neptune looked to the Nepgear, before shrugging and turning back to me. "...You're one step closer to having a robot arm?"

"...Neptune, what did you do!?" I asked, clenching my now nonexistent left hand.

"I didn't do anything!" Neptune said quickly. "It's… well, you remember how you passed out after the battle? We found you out of transformation, which was pretty cool BTDubs, and some blood pooled around your mouth and rolling down your chin. It was kinda like drool, but less adorable and a lot more gross. I mean, not like drool isn't gross in the first place…"

"You drool sometimes, adorable isn't a word I'd use to describe it. Cute, maybe, depends on the situation, but not adorable." I said, before nodding. "Also, thanks. It WAS cool."

"So we brought you here in a hurry." Said Nepgear. "The Doctors did a quick rundown with what they already knew, and ended up deciding that the most likely cause was the Causality Gauntlet that was melted into your hand."

"Though, I don't think any of them surgeons knew how to remove it without really messing your hand up." Said Neptune. "This ain't your average game of Tetris, you hear?"

"I assume said gauntlet was taken back to Leanbox?" I asked. "...Presumably… without my severed hand still attached?"

"It was their tech to begin with, and I believe Histoire is working on sending over the Dimensional Tethering Platform you found at R-18 Island." Said Nepgear, before she sweatdropped. "That is… whatever wasn't already destroyed by you earlier…"

"Ah, right… High stress, not very bright thinking." I said. "So, the gauntlet was poisoning me then?"

"That's the most likely cause." Said Nepgear.

"...Well, there goes my competitive Video Game Career. I mean unless you count Nepclicker…" I turned to Neptune. "I still can't believe someone made that."

"With that said, you should be released by the end of the day." Said Nepgear, before she pulled out a notepad with the planeptune logo emblazoned on the front. "With the exceptions of sticking to a specific diet for the next few days… A few prescribed drugs… and you also need to wear a sling for a bit."

"Drugs?" I asked. "What kinds?"

"Few things, some vitamins, some antibiotics, some steroids for your lungs… and some painkillers. Most likely for your left arm's phantom pains when they start every now and then." Said Nepgear.

"OH. Joy..." I said, eyebrow twitching. "Why does that list seem… oddly large?"

"Well, you lost a hand, and you coughed up blood. The doctors are playing it safe, I think…" Said Nepgear.

"Also, Orange Juice… apparently. Need to regain all of your lost fluids you know?" Asked Neptune. "Anywho, we'll be picking you up with Peashy, Compa, and Iffy later tonight!" She smiled, putting her hands to her hips as she nodded happily.

"See you later Bryce." Said Nepgear, walking out of the room. Neptune quickly leaned in to give a quick kiss, before she hopped away from the bed.

"Love you, Bryce!" Neptune said, running after Nepgear. "Hey, Nep Jr! Wait up!"

"...Love you too." I said, smiling slightly before I rolled my head so it faced up. "Now… What… The hell do I do now?

* * *

"This is already so weird. Like, I squirm around when things are uncomfortable, I don't think I'll ever be able to sit still for long periods of time anymore…" I said as the nurse put my arm in a sling, after changing the bandages. "Not that I was able to do that, to begin with, but…"

"And there, you're all good." Said the nurse, as she stepped away from me. "Now, let me help you get to the front lobby."

She motioned to the wheelchair next to my bed. I raised an eyebrow at this. "What, did I get paralyzed from the waist down too?"

"It's just hospital policy, we want to be careful." Said the nurse, as I sighed, stepping off my hospital bed, as I climbed onto the wheelchair.

I rolled my left shoulder, grimacing. "I'm never going to get used to this…"

After a few minutes of being pushed around, I finally arrived at the lobby. I gave a brief nod to the group of familiar faces who were waiting in the lobby. "Am I the only one who thinks this is becoming a trend? I think it's a trend now."

"How's your left hand?" Asked IF.

"I'm flipping you off with it." I said before IF smirked.

"Good to see you're not taking all this badly." Said IF.

"Hey, I've already tried jumping into the deep end of a pool without a life jacket, and then I tried shooting myself in the head. If a higher power wanted me dead, I'd have such a thing happen at this point." I said, before sighing. "Doesn't mean I can't be sarcastic about things everywhere."

"Fair enough." Said IF, as the Nurse walked away. "So, who's pushing Bryce to the basilicom?"

"Oh, we are not doing that!" I said, pointing at IF.

"We have too! Doctor's orders, Bry-Bry!" Said Compa, as she walked past IF.

"...What doctor; you?" I asked.

"Well, mine and the doctor who was in charge of your recovery." Said Compa.

"...God dammit…" I muttered as Neptune and Nepgear joined the other two. "Okay, let's get this over with…"

"I'll push him!" Said Neptune, as she grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and sprinted out of the hospital with me in tow. "Full speed ahead!"

"Woah, Neptune!? Hey, this isn't Initial D! I AM HIGHLY SURE THIS THING CAN'T KANSEI DORIFTO!"

* * *

"And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why Neptune should never be allowed to push me around in a wheelchair, ever again." I said as I sat on the couch of the main room, as Neptune rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. My arms positioned in a pseudo crossed position.

"I'll keep that in mind next time." Said IF, chuckling nervously.

"So, where's Peashy right now?" I asked as Nepgear walked back with a few cups of tea, a cup of hot chocolate, and a pudding cup. "Also, thanks for the hot chocolate."

"I don't see why you refuse to drink tea…" Said IF.

"Not a tea guy, nor a coffee guy. Find Coffee too bitter, and tea… well, depends on the tea." I said, before shrugging. "And uh, Peashy?"

"She's looking out over the city on the balcony again." Said IF, as I nodded, standing up. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Outside, need some air. And don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to go web swinging with only one web shooter." I said, waving her off, before pausing. "Where… is the other one anyways?"

"In your pocket." Said Nepgear, as I gave a nod, walking over the balcony.

I opened to door up and walked out, the lights of Planeptune in the evening was always a strange sight to behold. It was a little surreal and reminded me a lot of some of the major cities from home. "...Strange sight isn't it?"

"Huh?" Peashy turned around as I sat crossed legged near her.

"The city, the people, this world… I haven't really gotten used to it yet…" I said, before looking back at Peashy. "But you probably don't understand much of what I'm saying."

Peashy shook her head, I sighed. "Didn't say she'd stop being really social…" I muttered before I took the hard drive full bottle out of my right pocket. "Here, take this real quick."

"...What is it?" Asked Peashy.

"This… is a full bottle, your full bottle to be precise. It holds a small amount of your energy." I said as she took the bottle out of my hand. "See the cap on top, spin it to the flat side is pointing your direction, and then start shaking the bottle."

Peashy placed her left hand over the shielding cap, twisting it to the right as an audible click clicked from the bottle soon after before she started to shake it. It wasn't a frantic shake, but a light one. In a few moments, the essence trapped inside the bottle freed itself and flew back into Peashy, her eyes lighting up for a second before they went back to normal.

I smiled, taking the now empty bottle out of her hand. "And there we go. Alright, I'm going to head back inside now. Enjoy the view!"

I placed the bottle in my pocket as I walked up to the door. I walked into the main room as Neptune sat down on her bean bag and played on what resembled a ps4 of some kind, it had the Lastation logo plastered on it so I assumed it was this world's version of it.

I let out a sigh, before walking into the kitchen and picking up an orange. "Oh Orange, you're the only thing in this world that still somehow harmless. Tell me, oh Harmless Orange, what do I do now?"

"Stop talking to oranges for one."

"Gah!" I shouted, throwing the orange to the other side of the room, accidentally smashing it into the wall. I looked behind me to see IF with a smug look on her face. "...You saw nothing!"

"...Sure." She said, walking off.

"...Eh, might as well join Neptune in whatever she's doing." I said, walking out of the kitchen in search of my girlfriend.

* * *

"Hey!"

"Wait up!"

This was the day. The day we sent Plutia and Peashy back to the Ultradimension. And what was happening right now? Neptune and I running late because Neptune forgot something before we left.

"Neptune! Bryce! You're late!" Said Histoire.

"Sorry!" Neptune said, running up to Plutia. "Forgot something, and Bryce was having trouble getting ready."

I lagged behind a bit as I rested my right hand on my knee. "Let's make sure we have everything BEFORE we leave next time…" I muttered, walking back up over to Neptune and Plutia as the two stopped hugging. "And for the record, having one less hand makes everything so much harder than it normally would be. Tying my shoes is a nightmare now…"

"Plutie… thanks so much for coming. I know we'll meet again!" Said Neptune, looking at her friend.

"Yep, Definitely!" Plutia nodded, before she turned to me, extending her arms as she dragged me into a hug. "Don't think I'd forget about you either, Bryce!"

"Good to know I'm not exactly forgettable…" I said, in mock amusement as I returned the hug with my right arm. "It was nice having you around Plutia, I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too… And... you don't have to be scared."

The words were spoken in such a whisper I was sure I was the only one to hear them. We separated as Plutia gave me a soft smile. I felt a dumbfounded expression spread onto my face. Plutia just gave a knowing nod as the familiar feeling of tears formed behind my eyes.

"P-ko! You take this!" Said Neptune, crouching down to Peashy's height as she handed the girl a small yellow bag. The girl quickly opened the bag, a single pudding cup labeled 'Nep's'.

"Neptune, what's this?" Asked Peashy.

Neptune paused, before smiling. "It's the tastiest thing in the world!"

" _E-excuse me! Please enter the gate!_ " Said Mini Histoire.

"Sorry for holding them up!" I said, nodding to Mini Histoire.

"See you later everybody!" Said Plutia, waving to us as Peashy stared down at the cup of pudding. I gave a two finger salute, as the others waved. Plutia turned to Peashy, who still seemed to be analyzing the cup of pudding in her hands. "Peashy."

Peashy turned around, walking into the beam of light as Plutia followed. The holographic form of Mini Histoire seemed to dance around the beam, before flying into it, brightening up the gate tenfold.

At the last possible second, Peashy's head turned to us, a look of unsure recognition on her face. "Neptuna?" The words left her mouth as the gate suddenly burst into light.

The sky returned to a bright blue, as we stared up at where our friends had left. I felt the tears forming behind my eyes slowly start to leak out. "...God dammit…" I muttered.

* * *

I stared down the fullbottle in my hand, as the words Plutia said rang through my mind. ' _I don't have to be afraid, huh?'_

I let out a sigh, snapping the fullbottle cap into its open position as the essence flew out from the bottle back into the CPU Memory. The once dull crystal quickly regained its color, shining vibrantly as I swallowed. I slowly reached for the memory as it sat on my desk, before pulling my hand back.

"I still can't do it," I muttered, sighing as I walked out of the room. I looked over by the elevator, as Nepgear, IF and Compa loaded into it. Nepgear turned to see me as she waved to get my attention.

"Oh, Bryce! Neptune wants to show us something!" Said Nepgear, as I nodded, running over to the elevator as I joined up with them.

"What's this about?" I asked.

"Something about the sharicite, I think." Said Nepgear, as I nodded. Once the elevator stopped, I followed the group into the sharicite room, Neptune and Histoire already waiting for us.

And oh boy was it bright!

"That's amazing!" Said Nepgear. "I've never seen a sharicite shine so bright!"

"I know it's beautiful." Said Compa.

"So Nep, what does this mean?" Asked IF, looking over at Neptune

"It's obvious isn't it?" Asked Neptune with a giggle.

"We wouldn't be asking if it wasn't," I responded as the girl pouted at me.

"Bryce…" Neptune whined as I let out a slight laugh, as the girl bounced back up. "Planeptune a Super Duper Smash Hit! Like Dur!"

"Our shares had been in slow decline." Said Histoire, holding a line graph that showed the decrease in shares. She then flipped the page over, showing the share amount exploding upwards. "But one day they suddenly skyrocketed."

"Now, somewhat inexplicably, we're far outpacing the other countries." Finished Histoire.

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Said IF, her arms crossed.

"I told you, it's obvious!" Said Neptune, a smug look on her face. "Our blast processing gives us blistering speed that other countries can't even touch."

I let out a snort at that, as I silently chuckled to myself.

"I told you, that's not even a real thing." Said Histoire. "It must be the victory we had over Eden."

"That might be a contributor, but surely not to this kind of scale." Said IF.

"But Nep-Nep has been working really hard." Said Compa.

"That's a good point." Said Nepgear.

"As much as I agree with that, I think IF is right in this scenario... Something's off." I said, laying my arm across my sling.

"Aw, you worry too much!" Said Neptune, as I let out a sigh.

"That's not _un_ true…" I said, looking to the side.

"But anyway, we're not here to talk about how rad I am!" Said Neptune, holding a rolled-up sheet of paper.

"Even though it's a welcome addition?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in mock amusement.

"Yes, but we're here to talk about this!" Said Neptune, unrolling the paper as she showed it to us. It was a crayon drawing of what I assumed was an amusement park of some kind.

"...Are you planning to make an amusement park or…?" I asked in confusion.

"I want to say thank you to all of our citizens, by opening up the basilicom grounds. And throwing a party to beat all parties!" Said Neptune. "I call it: The Dynamite Wonder Festival!"

"...That's a mouthful." I said after a moment of silence.

* * *

"So… what are we doing right now?" I asked as Nepgear scribbled marker dots on my right arm.

"I'm getting your arm measurements so I can transfer them, flip them, and then use them to make you a robot arm!" Said Nepgear, as I blinked. "It's… kind of obvious how uncomfortable you are right now… especially with all the fidgeting… as well as how much you've been struggling with this. Why did you even put your wallet in your back left pocket?"

"It's where I normally put it. It's a force of habit. I swear, I've been meaning to put it inside my coat, I just… haven't gotten around to it." I said, my shoulders rising and falling every now and then. "And sorry about the fidgeting."

"Don't worry about it!" Said Nepgear, as she lifted my arm up. "Okay, and then I just place this in here…"

My arm was suddenly placed inside of what looked like one of those CT scanners they have at the hospital but sized for my arm. After a few moments, Nepgear pulled the machine away. "Alright, I should have this thing finished just in time for the festival if I work hard enough."

"Seriously, thanks Nepgear." I said, standing up.

"Oh wait! One more thing." Said Nepgear, as I turned around. "...So I was running over the data with the CPU Memory Fullbottle… and I think you might want to know something…"

"What's that?" I asked.

"...It seems to have… a negative reaction to your body." Said Nepgear. "The essence itself is almost toxic to us, but I think it might have been offset by the other fullbottle."

"...Where are you going with this?" I asked.

"I think… it might have been possible that the actual cause of your blacking out… was the memory fullbottle and not… the gauntlet." Said Nepgear, as I paused.

"...Well… F*ck…" I muttered, as I licked my lips and swallowed. "...I'm gonna go lie down. I'd rather not worry about this, I mean, you're making me a new arm anyways, right?"

"Y-yeah! Let's keep positive!" Said Nepgear, as I nodded, walking out of the room.

* * *

"GOD DAMMIT!" I yelled, lying down on the balcony as I stared up at Planeptune's sky. "Well, that revelation did nothing to help ease my discomfort with actually using the memory…"

"Oh Bryce, there you are." Said IF, as she walked onto the balcony. "You seem…"

"Like I'm in a total mood? Yeah, that's a good way to describe my bubbling emotions right now." I said, my hand opening in closing. "You guys need something?"

"Well, Nep is off at Lastation about having the other goddesses attend the event…" Said IF.

"Fat chance of that," I said. "I know there's the friendship treaty, but why Neptune thinks that they're going to celebrate the massive influx of shares for ONE person in said treaty, when it's not themselves makes my question why she even bothered asking them in person."

"Well, you weren't wrong about you being in a mood." Said IF.

"Sorry…"I said, sighing as I turned to them. "Right, you guys wanted my help with setting some things up? Or just to supervise?"

"Not really. Histoire actually wanted to talk to you about something in the sharicite room." Said IF, as I blinked in confusion. "She also said to bring that crystal Plutia gave you."

"...O...Okay?" I said, nodding as I walked back inside.

Histoire wants to see the CPU Memory? That's… actually, I don't know what to think about that right now. I shrugged, letting out a sigh as I opened the door to my room, the CPU memory sitting on my desk, glowing an ethereal light.

"Alright, let's go…" I muttered, picking up the memory and placing it into a small wood chest almost as big as the palm of my hand. I closed it up as nodded to myself. "...Wait a sec… This actually can't be anything BUT serious, since… well, Histoire is probably up to her ears in work with the 'Dynamic Wonder Festival' right now."

I felt a smile etch onto my face. "Work that Neptune probably dumped onto her shoulders when she went off to invite the other CPUs…"

I walked out of my room and over to the elevator, IF opening it up as I walked inside. "Thanks." I said.

"No problem." She said, pressing the button leading to the ground floor as she stepped out of the elevator. "Gear asked me to grab her something as well so I'll grab the elevator after."

I nodded, as the elevator doors closed. I leaned against the elevator wall as I descended.

* * *

"Bryce, there you are!" Said Histoire.

"Sorry about the wait," I said, gripping onto the box containing the CPU Memory. "Right, so what is it you want to talk about exactly Histoire?" I asked as I walked over to her, Neptune's sharicite shining behind her.

"I'm sure you have a general idea of what it is specifically I wish to talk about, but I wanted to ask first how you're doing," Histoire said, as I blinked. "It's been a little over a week since your last… incident. I just wanted to know how you're handling everything, especially now with the loss of your left hand."

The question was definitely two-fold, the one on the surface, making sure I was okay, and the one beneath, asking if I was thinking of folding my hand a second time.

I let out a breath that I felt like I had been holding for the better part of a week now. "To tell the truth, I'm still not over it. The hand things annoying, and I can't change a lot of it for the time being, but I'm improving." I said, my eyes turning away from the ground as I looked back at Histoire. "This is just another bump in the road that I'm traveling right now. And I won't let it steer me wrong this time. Plus, Nepgear's working on a robot arm for me that she hopes will be done in time for the festival, so it's not like I'll be stuck like this for too long."

"Then let's move onto the more pressing matter of this meeting." Said Histoire, as she flew over to my right arm and took the box from my hand. "Plutia had given this to you, correct?"

"That's right," I said as Histoire opened up the box, the light from the CPU Memory glowing against the open lid of the box. "I assume you want to talk about this?"

"Yes." Said Histoire, closing the box and motioning for me to take it back. I did so, tucking it under my right arm as I looked at Histoire. "Bryce… Judging by the tone of your voice you know what it is that's under your arm?"

"Yeah, Plutia referred to it as a CPU Memory," I said. "It's an item that spawns in her dimension rarely. Almost at an impossibly small chance. It's the rarest item in existence in her dimension, although that doesn't make it the most sought after.."

"CPU Memory… Plutia mentioned it was probably the reason Peashy became Yellow Heart?"

"The Memories have a chance of turning the user into CPU. I assume Mini Histoire and Plutia both believe that Peashy came into contact with one in their dimension and became Yellow Heart, although somehow ended up in our dimension." I said as Histoire gained a thoughtful look on her face.

"...You don't suppose that Peashy might have ended up here due to that machine you found on Eden, do you? The one that's responsible for bringing you here?" Asked Histoire.

"...That is an excellent question." I said.

Histoire gained a thoughtful look on her face before she turned back to look at me. "Bryce, you… said there was a chance of them becoming a CPU… What happens when that doesn't happen?"

"...A 50/50 chance of it happening." I said as Histoire looked at me confused. "It's a coin toss on whether or not you become a CPU. The flipside of it… Well, there's a reason it's not highly sought after."

"Heads or tails Histoire? Would you take that chance to become a goddess if it meant that if you picked the wrong side you'd become a monster?" I asked, looking over at the Sharicite.

"...I assume this is why you have the item in a small chest and not just holding it in your right hand." Histoire said.

"...Yeah, it is." I said.

There was a silence that washed over the room for a few seconds before Histoire walked over to me. "Can you show me the CPU Memory once more?"

I nodded holding the chest out to the Oracle as Histoire opened the chest up. She peered at the Memory before her eyes lit up in what seemed to look like realization.

"Bryce… I haven't felt a power the likes of which that CPU Memory contain… for a very long time." Said Histoire, as I raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you do, do not let that crystal out of your sight."

"Right," I said. "...Are you okay, Histoire?"

"I'm… I'll be fine. It's just… it's like I'm seeing an old friend for the first time in ages." Said Histoire, an almost reminiscent smile adorning her features. "Right, I need to get back to work, and you… Well, Neptune should be arriving soon. Better catch up with her."

I nodded, turning away from the Sharicite, and by extension Histoire as I made to leave the room.

"...It's good to see you again." Histoire said to the now empty room.

* * *

Well, Neptune sure did a good job today.

I let out a sigh as I watched the festivities from the balcony of the Basilicom. I leaned back, stretching out with my arms, my left arm was no longer in a sling so I had it out in the open, or as open as my coat sleeve could be.

" _Is there any reason you don't want to partake in the festivities?" Asked Histoire as I stood opposite IF and her._

" _I just… I'm not exactly feeling up to it. Plus, it's only been a week since I've been given free roaming privileges, so having an ex-con walking around fairgrounds is probably going to make a few people uncomfortable." I said._

I let out another sigh, letting my arms hang beside me. "I mean, I wouldn't say NO to going, but… well, it's not like Neptune would be able to do a lot with me down there, what with her being the CPU hosting the event and all…"

I patted my right coat pocket with a sigh, feeling the CPU Memory core resting inside. Histoire had a reasonably good point I guessed, the one about not letting the CPU Memory core out of my sight. So, I decided… why not just leave it on me. I put the Memory in a ziplock bag however, just to be safe.

"Maybe I should go see if Nepgear finished my new arm yet…?" I muttered to myself, shrugging as I walked back inside, not noticing the dark clouds forming overhead.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something…" I muttered, opening the door to Nepgear's room. "...I'm definitely forgetting something."

I walked over to the center of the room, finding what I had been looking for. I stepped over to the arm, the appendage a carbon fiber black with purple undertones. The new hand seemed normal enough. I shrugged, as I shrugged the left side of my coat off as I lifted my left arm towards the new prosthetic.

The forearm section of the prosthetic opened up, allowing me to place my stump against the padded cushion near the prosthetic wrist.

 _ **{Initializing prosthetic attachment protocols. Please do not move.}**_

I raised an eyebrow at this before the forearm segments of the prosthetic clamped back into place around my forearm.

And then I felt pins stab into my arm.

"Agh!" I exclaimed, gripping my left arm as I felt the prosthetic seal around my forearm, the pins embedding themselves deeper. I took a moment to breathe, as a hiss eliminated from the arm.

 _ **{Prosthetic attached. Initiating boot sequence.}**_

I let out a sigh, letting my arm hang to the side. "Might as well head back outside…" I muttered, walking out of the room as I noticed a bright light shining through the main room windows. "The hell?"

I walked out of the balcony, as I watched as a floating hunk of rock and metal seemingly charged a ball of light.

"...Oh… Now I know what I was forgetting." I said, as things suddenly dawned on me.

The ball of light fired off, like a beam as it cut through the basilicom, exactly four floors below me. I gulped audibly, as I felt the tower suddenly slid to the left and felt gravity suddenly go sideways.

"Sh*t!" I shouted, as I the top chunk of Planeptune tower suddenly disconnected with the rest of the tower, taking me along the ride downwards. I extended my right arm forwards and shot out a webline towards the basilicom, watching as it attached and I felt gravity take hold once more.

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed, as I gripped the webline tight and swung away from the collapsing tower. I let go of the webline and began my free fall. "Okay… so that's Tari up in the sky then… How the hell did I forget this happened again!? Right, this was the part of the anime that I didn't remember as well, forgot why."

I looked ahead, and fired off another webline, swinging down towards…

"Oh… That's not good…" I muttered before I slammed into the glass as I re-entered the Planeptune Basilicom, stumbling over towards IF and Histoire. "What the… Bryce!? Are you alright!?" Asked IF, as I leaned over, breathing heavily.

"I'll… Be fine…" I said, looking up. I slid my left arm back through my coat sleeve, wondering briefly how long this activation sequence was supposed to take, before looking back at the trio. "How is everyone."

"They… they're fine, but…" Histoire started before she looked over at the floating nation. "We've been cut off from all of our communications and the internet has crashed. We're on our own."

"Well, that's certainly not a good sign…" I muttered, looking over at the floating country. "...Where's Neptune?"

"She's over there…" Said IF, pointing towards the floating nation of Tari. "Talking with the person responsible…"

"...I need to go." I said, backing up as I prepared to jump back out of the hole I made in the tower.

"That is a terrible idea!" Said IF.

"Too bad," I said, looking over at IF, my face set in stone. "Because I'm doing it."

"Bryce." I turned to Histoire, her face riddled with concern. "The person behind this attack… there's no doubt about it, but she's a goddess…"

"Yeah, like there was anyone else who could realistically go toe to toe with Neptune in this kind of scenario…" I said, shaking my head. "I figured that was the case. And you are indeed right, I don't stand a chance against her probably… but that just means I'm our best bet."

"What are you talking about?" Asked IF.

"I mean… why worry about one guy when there's a goddess standing in front of you?" I asked with a smirk. "I mean, what's the worse he can do? Disable your cannon?"

IF's eyes widened in realization, before narrowing. "...You won't be able to get up there."

"I believe all I'd really need in this scenario… is a helicopter at least." I said, stepping back. "Now move over, I have a girlfriend to help out… and people to save, those guys too."

I pushed off the ground and sprinted forwards and jumped, narrowly passing through the hole in the glass before I re-entered free fall. I narrowed my eyes as the ground slowly approached. I fired out a webline a few feet above the ground and hung on as I swung back into the air. "Now then… Helicopter… Helicopter…"

I looked over to my right, finding one sitting untouched on top of a nearby building.

"That was easy…" I muttered, firing another line as I swung over. "I forgot how hard it was to do this with only one shooter!" I muttered, letting go of the line and letting my momentum send me towards the top of the building.

I landed and rolled, letting the momentum roll with me as I got back into my sprint. I opened the helicopter door and got inside, taking a seat on the pilot's chair as I looked at the controls.

"...Is that a controller?" I asked, taking the controller in my hand as I shrugged. "Whatever, now… which trigger or button is the ascending one?" I pushed in the right trigger, as the propeller above me started to spin round and round, as I slowly raised off the ground. "Alright, and now to gain some altitude and move forward."

I stretched my right hand and pushed the left stick forwards as I held the right trigger in, watching as the helicopter tilted forwards a bit as I flew towards the nation of Tari.

"Now… I just got to be careful to avoid their detection…" I muttered, easing up on the left stick as I allowed myself to rise into the air a bit more, my eyes narrowing on the scene in front of me. "Hang in there Neptune…"

I watched as Purple Heart charged forwards towards the goddess of Tari, sword raised to strike only for bat-like wings to sprout from behind the goddess and block the attack like it was nothing.

"Rei Rights… You're going a little too far for my tastes…" I muttered, my hand getting a little cramped. "And can you activate yet!? How long does this kind of startup take!?"

Rei quickly pushed Neptune back into the air, as her head looked up towards me.

"...That's not good…" I muttered, watching as she smirked, swiping her hand as a holographic display popped up in front of Rei. I wandered my eyes a bit, finding the giant cannon behind her and watched as it slowly gathered energy. "Also not good for me!"

Purple Heart looked up in shock, before charging once more, her sword engulfing itself in a torrent of flames as she swung ahead, causing four arcs of fire to fly off her sword towards Rei. I watched as the attacks were easily deflected by the bat wings once again, before Rei swung her staff, as electricity rained onto Purple Heart immobilizing her for a moment.

It appeared a moment was all that was needed for Rei. I let go of the left stick and pushed the right trigger in as far as I could, watching as the smile on Rei's face grew twisted.

The next thing I knew, the Helicopter was cut in half.

"Son of a bit-" I was cut off as the beam of light cut straight through the back of the helicopter, knocking me into the door to my left as the helicopter flew out of control, the back lighting ablaze.

I pushed my foot against the pilot side of the door before taking a breath in and kicking it open. The door flew off its hinges as I looked forward to find the flaming wreck of the helicopter careening towards the side of the floating nation of Tari.

"Please don't screw this up!" I said, jumping out of the opening as I reached forward with my left arm, as the helicopter crashed into the side of the nation exploding below me. I looked forward, as I quickly approached the side of the wall.

 _ **{Start up sequence - Initialized!}**_

I watched as purple lights flickered on across the surface of my prosthetic hand, as the hand suddenly spasmed before returning to normal. I wiggled my new fingers with a smirk before I threw my arm back and slamming it into the side of Tari. I grit my teeth as my metal hand embedding into the side of the floating nation, slowing me to a stop.

"...Well, as much as I'd like to make a comment on how long it took…" I said, before looking back up at the metal hand. "No time like the present, I guess."

I looked behind me, watching as Purple Heart grunted in pain. "Shit, I need to hurry…" I muttered, looking at Purple Heart's wings, watching as they seemed to flicker for a moment.

I grabbed onto a piece of metal jutting out of the side of the nation, as I pulled my left hand out of the wall and started to climb. "Just need to… Find an entrance or something along those lines…" I muttered, throwing my left hand into the earth once more, only for it to break through completely, as my entire hand was engulfed. "Uh… what?"

I narrowed my eyes, as I pulled my hand back and repeated the process, slamming my hand into the spot next to it. I watched as I made another hole in the wall, as an idea formed in my head. I pulled my arm back as made a fist, smirking as I reared back and threw a punch.

 _ **{HYDRAULIC IMPACT!}**_

I felt steam escape from vents on my hand as my punch flew and created a moderately sized hole in the wall. I blinked, before looking at my hand in shock. "I… Wasn't expecting that," I said simply, before shaking my head. "Less shocky, more climby."

I gripped onto the edge of the hole and pulled myself inside, looking on into what seemed to be a mechanical hallway. "Neato…" I said, dusting myself off. "Right, there's probably something important in here…"

I broke into a sprint as I ran deeper into the hallway, fumbling with my phone as I tried to pull up its flashlight app. I finally pressed the on button and looked on at the control hub in front of me.

It was circular in shape, sort of like what you'd see in the Tardis for its control station. I walked up to it, looking around at the wires that ran from it to different sections towards it and to other things. I looked up, taking the sight of what obviously looked like a power source of some kind.

"Better keep my mouth shut, don't want to jinx anything yet," I said, patting my coat pocket. "Good, didn't lose the memory core either, that would be… problematic."

I suddenly felt my left arm vibrate as I jumped in shock. "What the-!?" I asked, looking at my prosthetic hand. "Is… that a phone vibrating?" I placed it against my ear after a moment.

" _Bryce!? Are you okay?"_ Asked the worried, and _LOUD_ voice of Nepgear.

"Gah! Nepgear? Is that you? Hey, listen, why the hell is my new hand a phone? Actually, speaking of, how are you calling me right now? I thought IF said the internet and communications services were down?" I asked, looking at the console before me.

" _Well, they are, but I made your arm so it functioned on its own capacities."_ Said Nepgear. " _Look, I can explain a bit more later, but… She's charging up again!"  
_

"She?" I asked. "Wait, the Pongg Cannon? SH*T!"

I paused, before looking at my phone. "...Hey Nepgear… The speaker system of Planeptune is done via connections, right?"

" _Yeah, I made it my-wait why are you asking?_ "

I smirked, pulling my phone out and pulled up my music app. "Because I think it's my turn to do what I do best… Be the distraction." I said. "End Call."

" _Bryce, why did you just say End ca-"_ I heard the confused voice of IF ask over the phone, probably listening in on the conversation before the call ended with a beep.

"Showtime!" I said, pressing my thumb down on my phone's screen.

* * *

"You got it! Ah, the laser's collected enough energy now!" Said Rei, as she smiled sadistically. While the sudden appearance of Green Heart, Black Heart, and Black Sister was a nuisance, it wasn't one that lasted very long. "So, can I shoot?"

"No stop!" Exclaimed Purple Heart.

"Not like saying that will stop me. Fire!" Exclaimed Rei Ryghts, pushing the red button on the hologram. The cannon grew brighter before it suddenly began to flicker and die down.

"What!?" Rei exclaimed, turning around as the energy charging the cannon dissipated.

" _Oh… I'm sorry, I saw these massive wires leading up to that cannon thing up there and thought, 'Wow, those must be important!' Please tell me they were important!"_ A voice rang out from the Planeptune grounds at a volume loud enough to reach the goddesses' ears.

"Who dares…!?" Exclaimed Rei Ryghts.

"Bryce!?" Purple Heart exclaimed, her eyes widening.

" _Thanks for crashing my Helicopter, by the way, really thoughtful of you."  
_

"Where are you!?" Rei exclaimed.

" _Where do you think I am!? How many other places have a control hub filled with wires for goddess sakes!?"_ Bryce's voice eliminated from the fairgrounds, the smugness clear in his voice. " _Though I thought you'd like some music to go along with things. Hope you don't mind, I think it'll… make things more dramatic."_

There was a static pop as everything grew quiet, leaving Rei to grit her teeth in anger. A second later, and the music began.

 **(Play Life Will Change [Instrumental] - Lyn [Persona 5 Soundtrack)**

"I'll deal with you four later…" Said Rei, swinging her staff as the four goddesses were quickly restrained against the side of the nation. "I have a pest to deal with…"

* * *

"Well, that was easy…" I said, slipping my phone back into my pocket as I loosely held my old gun in my left hand. I raised it into the air, looking at the metallic purple sheen staining my old Kimber Warrior. "Last time I fired you I was trying to kill myself… Let's see if I can aim you at someone else's head for a change…"

There was a sudden explosion to my left, as I jumped off the control console and watched as the enraged Rei Ryghts in her goddess form walked into the room.

"Ah, I see the prodigal son returns," I said, only for Rei's eye to twitch as she swung her staff diagonally, as blue lighting soared towards me. "Oh, sh*t!" I exclaimed, raising my arms into the air.

 _ **{LIGHTNING ROD MODE ENGAGED}**_

I watched as my hand suddenly absorbed the electricity into my palm, as the purple lights on my hand grew brighter. "Wow… That was close!" I said, looking up to see Rei charging at me with a roar. "Woah!"

I dashed to the left, ducking to the side as I barely dodged the swing of her staff. I landed into a roll, bringing my Kimber up as I slammed my index finger onto the trigger in rapid succession, firing round after round at the goddess.

To both my shock and my annoyance, I watched as the bullets harmlessly bounced off the goddess in front of me. "Oh… YAY…" I said, tossing my gun to the side, realizing that it was going to be effectively useless this time around. "Guess it's hand to hand then."

"You little brat!" Shouted Rei, as she charged me once more.

"How the hell am I having less trouble than the goddesses, are you slipping or something?" I asked, a clear smug grin on my face, as I raised my right arm and fired a glob of webbing at Rei's face, blinding her momentarily.

"Or am I just that good!?" I asked, clenching my left fist before throwing it into the goddess' gut.

 _ **{HYDRAULIC THUNDER BLAST!}**_

I watched as the lights dimmed and the metal knuckles on my hand to pop open and fire the stored electricity back at Rei, sending her back a bit.

"That looks painful, you okay?" I asked, running toward her, as she regained her footing. "Yes? Might need to FIX that!"

I jumped over her, firing a webline at her shoulder as I flipped behind her. "Peekaboo!" I fired a webline at her face while I was still in the air, before pulling myself towards her. I threw a punch at her face, before spinning around and firing another webline, snagging her shoulder as I pulled her close.

"And… Kick to the head!" I shouted, slamming my feet into her head, before pushing off and backflipping back onto the ground. I looked up, my eyes meeting the almost furious glare Rei was giving me as I charged forwards. I reared my right fist back before throwing it forwards towards her face.

Rei leaned to the side and grabbed my arm, twisting it as she gripped my wrist. "Who are you to stand up to a goddess?"

I felt her grip tighten, as the web shooter on my wrist suddenly burst from the pressure. "Oh come on! I liked that one!" I said, before jumping and flipping with the twisting rotation Rei had put on my arm. As soon as I landed I threw another punch, my knuckles popping open to deliver another electrically powered punch.

 _ **{HYDRAULIC THUNDER BLAST!}**_

My fist slammed into Rei's head as I forced her hand off my arm and sent her flying into the opposite wall. I shook my wrist, pulling the now broken web shooter off of it.

"I think it's about time I stopped pressing my luck…" I said, running over towards the control console. "Huh... Nothing looks immediately important… which means _EVERYTHING'S_ important!"

 _ **{HYDRAULIC IMPACT!}**_

I reared my fist back and slammed it into the console, ripping a fresh hole into it as the machinery around it sparked in agony. I felt something connect with my fist, and I smiled. "Found the important thing." I said, opening my hand and grabbing it.

"You bastard!"

I tried to turn around in time to see the attack coming… but I was too late.

I felt white hot pain flood my left arm, as I felt my body fly into the air, crashing into the ground a few meters away from the console, right next to the hole Rei had crashed through in.

"GOD COME ON!" I exclaimed, gripping my left bicep as I bled from the newly created stump of where my arm had once been. "I just GOT that arm!"

"You're right, you have been the biggest problem I've had so far, but that ends now." Said Rei, firing a blast at the console above, as she smirked. "And like that, the power is back on."

I grit my teeth as I stood up, only for Rei to suddenly dash towards me and grab my neck with her hand. "I think I might make an example of you…" Said Rei, lifting me off the ground.

"You… B*tch!" I grunted out, as I let my arm go slack beside me. As my hand fell down, it brushed up against something in my right pocket. "So how exactly are we going to go about this. You gonna kill me in front of a live studio audience, or slow painful torture in a dungeon. I'm privy to the second if it's kinky at least.

I reached into my right leg pocket and pulled out the web shooter I had originally strapped to my left arm before it's amputation the first time. "Do you ever shut up?" Asked Rei, gripping my neck harder as I raised up my right hand, lined up the shot, and squeezed.

"Oh yeah, but here's a neat trick. Watch the hands, not the mouth." I said, gripping the webline tight before I pulled.

Rei had exactly two seconds to look at the machine in shock, as I ripped my removed prosthetic free from the machine, taking a sparking piece of tech with it.

"Oops!" I said as Rei turned to me with fury in her eyes. "I didn't realize what this thing did…"

* * *

 **(Stop Music)**

In hindsight, it was probably not a good idea to antagonize her. This became apparent when she threw me through the nearest wall and sent me flying out into the open air, right into the path of White Heart.

"What the-!?" White Heart exclaimed, as I slammed into her, sending her away from whatever it was she was about to do.

"Sorry!" I said as I bounced back, only to feel a hand grab the back of my neck. "Okay, that's uncalled for!" I said, my voice hard to get out with the grip around my neck.

"Bryce!" Purple Heart exclaimed as I was dragged back up into the air.

"Hey, Neptune…!" I said as I gripped onto Rei's arm, her hold on my neck not letting up. "I'm a little busy at the moment."

"Let him go!" Shouted Black Heart, as Rei Laughed.

"Poor choice of words, Noire." I said.

"No one make any sudden moves! And don't think I didn't see you, White Heart!" Said Rei, as White Heart clicked her tongue in annoyance, flying up to join the others. "How you got out of that hold, I don't care, but any sudden movements and the nuisance gets it!"

"Oh, don't I feel loved," I said before I instantly regretted anything I said, as I felt the grip around my neck tighten. "Guh-!"

"No, Stop!" Shouted Purple Heart, moving forward by a foot.

"...How about… No." Said the almost gleeful voice behind me, before I felt white hot pain stab through my stomach.

I coughed, a thick red liquid I was 90% certain was blood dripping onto my chin as I looked down at my stomach, finding the end of Rei's Staff sticking out of my abdomen. "Oh… That… That doesn't… Look good…"

I felt the staff twist in my stomach before it ripped itself free as another wave of blood rushed up my throat. My right hand fell slack by my side, as Rei let go of my neck, letting gravity do its job.

My hearing disappeared at this moment, as did most of my vision, leaving barely little to be seen as I plummeted towards the ground. I felt the wind, and then the ground, and I bounced and rolled. I blinked, my right hand twitching as I tried to move it.

"I… I need… I need to…" The voice sounded like gravel coming out of my throat, as I reached into the right pocket of my coat. I pulled out the ripped remains of the Ziploc bag I had placed the CPU Memory in, but I couldn't find the Memory.

I looked up before I saw something small falling towards me. Even if I wanted to move to avoid it, I couldn't. Nothing was moving, except for the strenuous action of making my arm move, and I was bleeding out. If I wasn't dead from that, this would do it.

However, it didn't land on my head, killing me instantly, but beside it. I looked to my left, seeing the CPU Memory lying right next to me.

It was at this moment, there was no doubt in my mind. I guess fear kind of existed when you were already this dead. I moved my remaining arm and clutched the Memory with all of the might that remained.

And then, there was a light filling my vision.

* * *

"Hey… Hey… HEY…! WAKE UP ALREADY!"

"Ugh…" I groaned, blinking my eyes open as I stared at the bright light below me. "What?"

"Took you long enough…" Muttered the voice, as I blinked to find a woman standing over me with a pout on her face.

"Woah!" I shouted scrambling backward as I threw my arms forwards.

"Ah! Sorry…! It's just you weren't really waking up and I was getting a little worried." She said, clenching her hands and holding them around her shoulders, almost like she was trying to appear smaller.

I took that moment to get a better look at the woman in front of me. The first immediate thing I had noticed was the silver-white hair that was about neck level, almost the size human form Neptune had herself. Her physic was that of someone in their mid-late 20s, and… She was a little less developed than Vert, but a little more developed than Purple Heart in some regards.

"...Where...am I?" I asked as the woman looked up at me.

"Huh? Oh, you… Well, I'm not exactly sure, but… Well, it looks a little like Celestia actually…" Said the woman, patting her white dress down with one hand while the other poked her cheek as she gained a thoughtful expression on her face you'd expect to find on someone like Neptune.

"Wait I'm dead!" I exclaimed, standing upright.

"Wait you're dead!?" Exclaimed the woman, as she jumped back. "Oh… Wait, you… yeah, you weren't in the greatest condition now that I think of it when I connected with you, huh? But I don't… think you're dead."

"Connected? What… What are you talking about? This is Celestia, right? Isn't that Heaven to your dimension or something!?" I asked, holding my arms out to her in confusion.

It then dawned on me that I was holding out a very real, very fleshy looking left hand and arm.

"What!? My hand? It's…"

"Oh yeah, allow me to explain a few things." Said the woman, as I turned to look at her. "You're not dead-Yet, but you ARE on the verge. Your hand is back because this is a mental… or spiritual, I don't know which is which right now, everything is a little wonky right now, a few… hundred… or thousand years of sleep will do that to ya by the way. Anything else?"

"...Who ARE you!?" I asked.

"...Oh… That… That probably should've been addressed… first, huh?" The woman said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. She then nodded to herself before looking at me dead in the eyes. "Right, well… I'm you."

"What!?" I exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Pfft!" Her hand flew over her mouth as she doubled over, trying not to laugh. Although ultimately failing. "Hahahahahaha! No no no! That was a joke. I'm… Well… It's… a long story?"

"...O-okay?" I said, looking around. I looked at the sole tree in the field surrounding us. It looked a lot like one of those scenes from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or at least one of the ones from that Nintendo Switch trailer from a few… what was it, at least a year ago now, right?

"Okay, serious time, serious time." The woman said, almost pumping herself up. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am who you would refer to as… The 'TRUE' Goddess."

"...OH," I said. "...So you're the OG Goddess then… Prove it."

The woman shrugged before four angel-like wings sprouted out of her back, each one a different color. Black, White, Purple, and Green. The goddess smirked. "Proof enough?"

"...Yeah, that's pretty accurate." I said as I blinked. "...Wait, didn't you split yourself into four? Because I thought that was how Neptune, Blanc, Noire, and Vert were created?"

"Well, I did. In all honesty, I don't know why I exist right now." Said the goddess.

"Seriously?" I asked. "That… kinda sucks."

"Nah, I'm kidding. I exist mainly due to the leftover remnants of my power that survived the splitting process. Activating that crystal of yours gave the remnants enough power to create a spiritual link and recreate me, at least in this spiritual landscape of yours." Said the goddess. "I didn't realize that in another dimension I split my power into those memory cores… Well, at least it's helpful for me so I can do one last thing before my remnants dissipate into nothingness."

"Wait, and that is?" I asked.

"Why, turn you into a CPU, of course." Said the goddess, a smug look on her face as she rubbed the underside of her nose. "Besides, it would really suck if my daughter ends up a widow due to her boyfriend dying from something like a stab to the back."

"...I have no response for that." I said. "Wait, you can override the coin toss!?"

"Psh, yeah! It's only there so the power can figure out who'd best suit it. And well, also the tiny fact that it needs to make sure… certain people… don't become gods?"

"...Elaborate."

"So… Normally… Guys can't become CPUs… due to the fact that… well… they aren't female?" Said the Goddess.

"...I know my dimension had a problem with sexism, but your universe honestly makes me question so many things." I said, deadpanning at the goddess.

"Look, the dimension has a male to female ratio of like… a gazillion to one, okay? And most of the guys in the dimension are evil, and that robot guy is super weird...! Why would I, or any version of myself, WILLINGLY let that kind of power fall into their hands!?" The goddess said.

"You know… when you put it like that… Wait, so… if being a man keeps the crystal from activating right…"

"That's right. I need to make you a woman." Said the Goddess.

"HELL NO!" I said, pointing at her with my left hand dramatically.

"I'm kidding! Kidding!" She said, laughing loudly. "Wow… You are surprisingly trollable."

"Get to the point please…" I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Right right. I can make you a CPU, keeping your gender intact. This, in turn, will save your life, and you'll be able to take down Rei Ryghts." Said the Goddess. "Any questions?"

"...Wait, if Rei Ryghts is a goddess… how does she exist exactly?" I asked, my eyebrow raised.

"...I may have… given a bit of my power to a mortal a few… centuries ago? Or was it longer? Look, let's just say I had two more wings earlier one blue and one orange, and now Rei Ryghts is a god and I don't have those anymore." Said the Goddess. "Now can I god-ify you now, or what?"

"Wait what happened to the orange one?" I asked.

"I dunno, different dimension or something." Was the simple response I got.

"...Right… Let's do that." I said, nodding.

"Great." Said the goddess, her features turning serious, as she walked up to me. "Now… Place your hand on my chest."

It took me a moment for my mind to realize what exactly she had just asked me to do. When my brain decided to actually RECOGNIZE what she had said…

"Wait what!?" I exclaimed, stumbling backward.

"PFFFFT! HAHAHAHA!" The Goddess laughed once more. "Oh my ME! That was too good to pass up!"

The Goddess took a breath in, before extending a hand towards me, a holographic CPU Memory floating in her hand in front of me. "Listen, while you will become a CPU… You won't be an unstoppable machine of terror. You physically don't have any people believing in you. I mean, you just fell to the ground with a hole in your chest from… really high up." Said the Goddess, taking a moment to attempt to figure out how high of a drop I had but decided it wasn't worth the brain power. "So I can do one thing for you. I will merge the last of my remnants into you while I activate the CPU Memory. This will give you enough energy for two minutes of fully powered godhood. Which means one thing… you need to make a show of your first move. Get the people believing in you, and that will give you the strength to keep fighting. So get out there, and make history, Player."

"...Wow, that… It's actually been a while since anyone acknowledged that." I said.

"Well, while at first, it seems important, honestly it's really not, at least in this dimension." Said the Goddess. "Although, it's probably a good thing no one sees you as a player anymore. Means that they see you for who YOU are. Anyways, we should probably start."

"...Before we start… How… BADLY is the personality change going to be?" I asked.

"Well… Because of how things are, I can't really promise anything. I mean, this is my first time as well, if you must know." Said the Goddess, winking at me.

"Cease."

"Mou… Fine."

"Right… Before I go though, what's your name?" I asked.

"Well …that's a little tricky. See, your dialect doesn't really work how mine used to… but if I had to choose one based on how your dialect names my children and their nations…"

The Goddess smiled at me. "Then I guess the closest you could refer to me would be… Arcadia."

I felt a smile form on my face, as I reached out to the crystal with my right hand. "Alright then. Arcadia… Thank you."

"No problem kid… I guess you could say this is my blessing then, huh?" Asked Arcadia, as I felt myself stumble a bit. "Right right, serious moment. Oh, and Bryce?"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Two things, one: Tell Histoire that she couldn't be doing a better job. Also that she needs a vacation, like seriously girl, you're going to work yourself to death if you don't!" Said Arcadia, looking off to the side like the fairy was there.

"...Right!" I said.

"And second…" The goddess leaned close to my ear and whispered something. She leaned away before I nodded. I reached out with my hand my finger tapping the crystal, as a bright light shone and rippled out, tearing the landscape asunder as a white void surrounded the two of us.

"Then let us begin. From here forth on… you will now be known as-"

* * *

The silence was palpable, the raw shock and horror of what they had just witnessed before them was uncontrollable, as the body of one of their dear friends collided with the ground.

"...Bryce… H-he…" Uni got out.

"...YOU B*TCH!" Shouted White Heart, turning over, only for Rei to snap her fingers as all of the CPUs' wings started to flicker as their share energy dropped.

"Now now… Where's the fun in that? I do believe I've had enough of this, wouldn't you all agree?" Asked Rei, a gleeful smile on her face. "Honestly, it's a bit of a shame. He wasn't too bad to look at if I had to be perfectly honest-"

"SHUT UP!" Shouted Purple Heart, as her face radiated raw anger through her glare. "You… Will not get away with this!"

"Oh but I think I have, and besides… What's one NPC out of the lot?" Asked Rei leaning forwards with a sadistic grin on her face.

"...E-excuse me? B-but… Is he supposed to be getting up?" Asked White Sister (Rom), as everyone looked down as Bryce stood up.

"Bryce!?" Purple Heart exclaimed.

"How the hell is he standing? I blew a hole in him! How durable is he!? Questions for later." Said Rei, before turning back to the CPUs. "Well, it's not like he'll be able to do much anymore."

As if those words were a catalyst, a bright light shone from Bryce's location, before a pillar of light erupted into the sky.

* * *

 _I stood up, my body screaming in agony as my empty eyes stared at the floating CPU Memory before me. I raised my right hand, blood seeping through the holes riddling my clothes, as my finger tapped the surface of the CPU Memory._

 _And then, the energy inside the memory,_ **EXPLODED.**

 **(Play Reel 'Em In! (Remastered) - Shady Cicada)**

I watched as data erupted around me and energy spiraled into me as my body's wounds healed. I clenched my hands and threw them to my sides, as a scream ripped itself free from my lungs and permeated the air above me. As soon as the scream left my lungs, I took a deep breath in, before smirking. "Two minutes huh?" I asked. "Then I don't have time to waste!"

I shivered another wave of energy washed over me before my body rapidly began to change. I paid the transformation no immediate attention, as I focused on the now manifested wings on my back. I looked ahead, my eyes narrowed at the Goddess of Tari looking at the beam of light with wide eyes.

"Rei Ryghts… You hurt me, my friends, and Neptune… And I don't like that kind of thing…" I said, before crouching down and launching into the air. The light dissipated as soon as I left the beam, and in less than a second, I was face to face with the Goddess of Tari.

I clenched my fist, reared it back, before swinging with all of the force I had. My fist flew, slamming into Rei's unprepared stomach as the Goddess flew backward and slammed into the share energy machine on the bottom of her nation, smashing the device, but not enough to truly break it to pieces.

"Dammit! And it would've been so cool too…" I muttered in annoyance as I shook my right hand.

"...B-Bryce?" Asked Purple Heart.

I turned my body around so I was facing the CPUs, only for it to keep spinning at a slow rate. "Woah! Uh, help!?"

"How… How are you alive? And that transformation…" Green Heart said.

I slowed to a stop, now facing the shocked faces of the goddesses before me. "It's cool, isn't it! I was all like, _WOOSH,_ And _ONE PUNCH!_ And all that!" I said, a smile on my face as I floated in the air.

"...This IS Bryce, right?" Asked White Heart. "Because this brat isn't acting like him."

"I'm not a brat! Take that back!" I said, pouting at White Heart. "You don't act like your normal self and yet everyone knows your the quiet one. Though your defining features do help with that distinction I guess..."

"What was that!?" Exclaimed White Heart in anger.

"NOTHING!" I said, clamping my mouth shut.

"Bryce!"

"Woah!" I suddenly found myself tackled by Purple Heart as, wait, when did she get so big?

"I thought you were dead!" Said Purple Heart, holding onto my shoulders as she looked down at me.

"And I thought you weren't that tall, seriously, did you grow or something?" I asked. "Because I hope you know that this means war if that's the case!"

"No… you just shrunk." Said Black Heart.

"Vert…? You okay there?" Asked Black Sister as Green Heart looked off to the side with a blush on her face.

"He's a literal Shota…" Green Heart muttered.

"...Vert is making me uncomfortable right now…" I said.

"She does that." Purple Heart sighed.

"You!" I blinked, quickly freeing myself from Purple Heart as I turned to face Rei as she charged at us. "I'll kill you!"

"You'll have to try harder than you already are!" I shouted, sticking my tongue out as I dashed to the side… a little too far in hindsight. "Oh jeez! How do you work these things!?"

"Stay still you little shi-"

"Language!" I shouted, spinning around as my foot slammed into her face. I backed up, hovering in the air opposite of her.

"Did Bryce just say… Language?" Asked Black Heart in confusion.

"I wouldn't question our personality changes at this point." Said Purple Heart.

I tilted my head back as Rei swung her staff at me, watching as it slowly swung over my head. I spun around, getting back into an upright position before kicking Rei's shin.

"Did you just kick my shin!?" She asked.

"Yes," I answered, before kicking it again and delivering a knee to her stomach to make some distance. "So, I got good news, and bad news, which do you wanna hear first?"

"Shut up!" Shouted Rei, stabbing her staff forwards.

"Good news it is!" I said, backhanding the staff before following up with a punch to Rei's head. "Your machine isn't broken!"

"Bad news!" I said, flying backward as Rei gave chase. "You aren't going to be stealing any more share energy with it!"

"Just stand still and die!" Rei swung her staff down on my head. I grunted, raising my arms to block as the staff collided with my armored forearm.

"Hey, no fair! I don't have a weapon!" I shouted, pushing Rei back before the metal gauntlet on my arm opened up and collapsed, reconfiguring into a blade overtop of my arm. "Wait, never mind, got an arm blade, this works!" I shouted, charging back into the fray.

"Swish, Swish! Stab!" I shouted, swinging my arm with reckless abandon as I swung at Rei.

"That's it!" Shouted Rei, slamming the bottom of her staff into my midsection, knocking me away from her. I took a shaky breath in as I patted my stomach.

"Well, at least there's no hole there this time…" I said, looking up to see Rei swing her staff down at me. "Oh, sh*t!" I exclaimed, covering my head as a metal clang was heard. After a moment, I opened my eyes to see Purple Heart in front of me, her sword blocking the attack.

"Bryce, you okay?" Asked Purple Heart, as she pushed Rei back as the other Goddesses joined us.

"Yep!" I said, smiling at Purple Heart. I flexed my right hand, the sword collapsing back into the metal gauntlet. "She's fast, but I'm just too light on my feet for her to really hit."

"Looked more like you trying to figure out how to do half the things you were doing and somehow failing into succession." Said White Heart.

"Mou… Neptune, Blanc's being mean again…" I whined, grabbing onto Purple Heart's arm.

"Why you little…!" White Heart's eye twitched. I stuck my tongue out. Sweet victory at it's finest.

"I never thought I'd actually like normal Bryce's personality, but here we are…" Black Heart said.

"Guys!" I looked to my left to see Purple Sister fly over to us. "Whatever you did, it just gave us back a bit of our share ener-huh? Who's this?"

I made to speak, but Purple Heart beat me to it. "It's Bryce."

"Bryce!?" Purple Sister flew over to me. "He... He's smaller."

"At least your not too much bigger than I am…" I muttered, grumbling before I felt something in the pit of my stomach form. "Ooh, that's not good…"

I groaned, wobbling in the air as Purple Heart gripped my arm. "Bryce!?"

"It's fine… I had two minutes of a power boost. I guess I just used it all up. I just hope I was able to get enough share energy from that…" I said, getting my balance back. "Also… we probably still need to worry about the cannon." I said as everyone looked at me.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Asked Black Sister.

"It's uh… still got power?" I said, giving a sheepish smile, before the sight of Tari with glowing red lines caught my attention. "See, that kind of thing."

"Alright, enough of this." Said Rei Ryghts. "Cute moment and all, but you're too late. I've got enough share energy to destroy the whole stinkin' world at this point."

"Destroy… the world?" Asked Purple Heart.

A gasp escaped my throat as realization kicked in. "But I live here!"

"But you said you wanted my country didn't you?" Asked Purple Heart.

"Yeah, I want it, so I can blow the whole damn place up and wreck your shit!" Said Rei, her smile all the more twisted. "It's a humble wish, really. Complete global annihilation, I mean."

"But… that's like the exact opposite of humble, right?" I asked, confused.

"But why? You're a goddess too, aren't you?" Asked Purple Heart.

"Why yes, but I'm not like you." Said Rei. "My subjects and I didn't get along at all."

"It might be because you're really mean, you never know." I said, nodding to myself.

"...I don't know what's more infuriating; you when you actually could say things more cutting, or you now… with your childlike mindset…" Said Rei, glaring at me. "But no matter, much like my previous subjects, I've heard disciplinary matters do work wonders for children."

"...I need an adult." I said.

"What does she mean by that?" Asked Purple Heart.

"The part about disciplining Bryce or her previous subjects?" Asked Black Heart.

"Tari Authorities cracked down on any citizens who took issue with their goddess." Said White Heart. "The People stopped believing in her, so the nation lost its shares and went to ruin."

"Today, we call that 'The Great Crash'." Said Green Heart.

"Well, it sounds like she got what she deserved." Said Black Heart.

I nodded, crossing my arms for emphasis.

"You're wrong! Those ungrateful swine." Shouted Rei. "They stole my country from me! Then if I can't have it, nobody can!"

"...Wow is she acting like a child right now…" I said, causing the goddesses next to me to sweatdrop.

"Coming from the ACTUAL child." Said White Heart.

I huffed and looked to the side.

"Replenish energy and prepare to fire!" Shouted Rei.

"I feel sorry for you." Purple Heart said, lifting her head up at Rei. I smiled, rolling my shoulders. "I have friends, but you were all alone. I wish that things had been different… But even if I sympathize, I will never surrender!"

"Ha! You and your crappy friends can hold hands and sing songs all the way to your graves, 'cause there's no way you're blocking this one!" Rei said, twisting her hand across the holographic screen in front of her, all the while laughing maniacally.

"Vert. Noire, as well. Blanc, too." Purple Heart began. "All of our sisters: Uni, Rom, Ram, Nepgear."

Purple Heart turned to me. "Bryce…"

I smiled, resting my hands behind my head as I gave an ear to ear smile.

"Our powers united, we won't lose!" Shouted Purple Heart.

"Ooh, this is gonna be awesome! Let's go! Ikuze!" I shouted, launching forwards.

"Trying to destroy the Pongg Laser Cannon before it fires, huh?" Asked Rei, as I charged forwards beside Purple Heart. "You better hope you're fast, or everyone and their dog down there are super screwed!"

"Bryce, hold on!" Shouted Purple Heart as I nodded, grabbing onto her shoulders as we flew towards White Heart.

White Heart spun her battle axe in circles, picking up momentum before Purple Heart slammed her sword into the pathway of White Heart's axe. "I'll send you flying at the speed of light!" White Heart shouted, pushing forwards as she launched us ahead.

"We missed!" I shouted. "How could you miss, we were two feet in front of it!"

"We really weren't." Said Purple Heart.

"I know, but references," I said, smiling as we soared forwards. As we flew, Purple Sister flew into our path of trajectory, swinging her blade forwards. "Batter up!"

"I know we can count on you two!" Shouted Purple Sister, as she swung forwards, sending us back towards the floating nation of Tari.

"Thanks for the push Nepgear!" I shouted, grinning.

"Too bad kid, that ain't going to work!" Shouted Rei, as she fired off blasts of lightning towards us.

"Oh right, she had that!" I said as Purple Heart made evasive maneuvers. "Woo!"

"One final Boost! Now Go!" I heard the voice of Green Heart shout behind us, as I looked behind to see her spears fly past us, colliding with the lightning around us.

"Thank you!" I said as we closed in on the Pongg Cannon.

"Dammit, close enough." I looked to my right, watching as Rei aimed her cannon once more, before Black Heart charged forwards, slashing through both of Rei's bat-like wings and her control hologram.

"You're entire life has been a mathematical error!" Said Black Heart. "One that we're about to correct!"

"Needs some work!" I shouted as we approached the Cannon. "You ready Neptune?"

"Ready when you are, Bryce." Said Purple Heart.

"Then let's blow some stuff up, then!" I said, flaring my wings to light as I jumped off Purple Heart, the forward momentum keeping me just behind her.

"Oh screw you all!" Shouted Rei, respawning her wings and console. "Cannon, fire!" She shouted, pushing a button on the screen.

"NOW!" I shouted.

" _ **VICTORY SLASH!**_ " Shouted Purple Heart, as she charged forwards, cleaving through the front of the cannon. "Bryce!"

" _ **HISSATSU!**_ " I shouted, twitching my left hand as the gauntlet on that arm unfurled into a massive arm cannon. I couldn't give it too much attention, however, so I just focused forwards. I threw my arm back, energy pooling around the barrel of my arm cannon. " _ **OVERCLOCK BLAST!**_ "

I threw my arm forwards, as the beam of energy fired forwards. There was a moment of silence as the blast collided with the stored energy of the Pongg Cannon, before a massive explosion ripped from the cannon, knocking me back as the nation of Tari began to explode.

I felt a hand grab me around my chest, before they pulled me away from the incoming explosions, as smoke drifted around us. After a few seconds, we emerged from the smoke victorious.

I watched on as the nation crashed into the ground, before looking up at the enraged face of Rei Ryghts.

"Wow, you look angry." I said as Purple Heart let me go.

"My nation… You destroyed it…" Said Rei.

"Yeah, that would do it." I said.

"Give it up." Said Purple Heart. "Whatever you hoped to accomplish, it will never come to pass."

We hovered in a circle around Rei, as I narrowed my eyes.

"I think it's time for you to surrender." Said Black Heart.

It was quick, almost impossible to notice, but I had ADD so my eyes wander anyways so seeing the crystal on Rei's chest glow red wasn't something I was thrilled about.

"...Uh, that's not good right?" I asked.

"All you did was crash a big rock. What makes you think you've won?" Asked Rei, as red energy swirled around her before beginning to form into a ball of energy in her hands. "Why, what is this ball of glowing energy I have here? What's that Mr. Energy Ball? You have the power to blow up half of the planet?"

I watched as Rei laughed once again, as I let the arm cannon on my arm retract. I grimaced, watching the spectacle in front of me.

"I'm almost impressed. You certainly have an astounding amount of hatred." Said Green Heart, before she held her hand out to her left, as White Heart took it in her right. "But that's not enough."

"'Cause we have something better than that." Said White Heart, as she clasped her left hand with her candidates'.

I watched as one by one the goddesses held their hands together. Part of me wanted to speak up about how ridiculous this was looking, but it was buried a bit too much for it to really speak up.

"Even if we didn't have an ounce of share energy left, we would fight." Said White Heart, holding her hand out to Purple Heart, who took her hand.

"Well Spoken." Said Purple Heart, before she looked to me and held her hand out. "Because as Goddesses we have a job to do. Right, Bryce?"

I smiled, clasping my hand in hers, as I looked at Rei. "I do believe I'm already spoken for, I mean, I kinda came back from near death to take you down, so how's that for a statement."

"This is gonna hurt though." I muttered, before taking Purple Sister's hand into mine.

"Y'know, once I kill you, I can blow up the world at any time." Said Rei, as the energy in her hands grew bit by bit. I felt Purple Heart's hand tighten around mine, as we prepared ourselves. "Fine, have it your way!"

The ball of energy expanded once more, before unleashing upon us. It exploded outwards first as a ball, before slamming into the circle we had formed around Rei, confining the shockwave into a single pillar.

I felt a scream rip itself from my lungs as I struggled against the destructive power of the blast. I tightened my hands around my friends as I fought to keep myself together. There was a second wave from the blast, and then all I saw was red as it expanded against us.

 **(LINE BREAK)**

"Ow… I knew it was going to hurt…" I muttered, sitting upright as I looked on at the devastated area around us. We had luckily managed to keep the area's damage to a minimum it seemed, but my body ached all the same. "You guys okay?" I asked, pushing myself to a stand as I looked at everyone around me passed out on the ground, out of HDD. I could only assume I was as well since I didn't feel that same power from earlier right now.

I looked up, watching as Rei pushed herself up, a little less beat up than the others. "I still have some power left… One more shot should wipe them all out for sure."

"Like hell am I going to let you get away with that." I said loudly, stumbling to my feet.

"...You…" Said Rei, glaring at me.

"Me…" I said, taking a step forward, only to fall onto my knees. "If you think I'm just going to let you go ahead and do this-"

"You're aren't even able to stand up right now!" Said Rei, smirking. "What makes you think you can do anything?"

"I can't really… but I make an excellent distraction." I said, smirking.

"Huh?" Asked Rei in confusion.

"I'll handle things from here." Said a voice, as Rei turned behind her to see Arfoire standing behind her. "And I can't really have you going and blowing the planet up, because one day it'll be mine and I want it in tip-top shape for when that happens."

There was a moment of silence, before Rei gave Arfoire a look of indifference. "Piss off, weirdo."

"Ooh, shouldn't have said that." I said.

"Eh?" Rei turned to me in confusion.

"Okey Dokey, Grandma! It's all ready!" Said a squeaky voice from behind Arfoire, as I looked over the rubble to see Warechu positioning tiny red shards around Rei's sharicite.

"Sleep in the murky depths of despair!" Proclaimed Arfoire, as she flicked up another tiny red stone, before throwing it over her shoulder towards the others surrounding the sharicite. As it landed, the shards formed a very familiar looking pyramid around the sharicite. The red glow began to fade from the power symbol, before it eventually turned a dull grey and fell to the ground, shattering to pieces.

"That works out well in the end I guess." I said, sighing in relief.

A scream ripped from Rei's throat as red energy evaporated off of her form. "NO! DON'T TAKE MY POWER AWAY!" She exclaimed, her voice almost sounding pained.

A moment later, the energy faded, reverting Rei back into her human form. She crumpled onto the ground, as I let a breath I didn't know I was holding leave my lungs. I gave a thankful nod towards Arfoire. "Thanks… Arfoire." I said. She gave a surprised look at me, before closing her eyes and turned to walk away, leaving behind the unconscious form of Rei.

I blinked, before looking at my hands. "...I actually finished a major fight and didn't pass out at the end of it… That's a first." I said, clenching my hands. I rolled my left wrist, my hand having been regenerated in my first transformation into a CPU.

"...Thanks, Arcadia…" I muttered before I felt a weight slam into my back. "Gah!"

"Bryce!" Neptune said as she hung around my neck. "We did it!"

"Glad to see you're okay," I said as I turned to watch the other goddesses regain consciousness. "That was… well, anything less than intense would be an understatement."

I smiled, looking up at the sky. "...We did it huh?"

* * *

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, looking at myself, before extending out my hand. "... _ **Access**_." I said as a holographic CPU Memory appeared in front of my outstretched hand. I closed my hand around it and swung my hand towards my chest, absorbing the hologram into me as I felt familiar power flow through me. I closed my eyes in concentration, before opening them as the power inside me erupted and I transformed in a stream of data.

I stared back at my reflection, finding that for one, I was indeed shorter than normal. I had taken the look of someone much younger than I was. Not as young as Rom or Ram, per se, but a little less old than say Nepgear. I shrugged, brushing a hand through the neck length silver-white hair on my head that reminded me much like that of Arcadia's.

I gave a brief glance at the outfit I had been gifted. It was black with grey highlights running through the suit. The suit itself looked a lot like the ones the goddesses wore but designed with my current body in mind.

It was like a skintight wet suit around my legs, with a pair of shorts worn overtop. I warn what seemed like a skintight dress vest over my chest, open down the middle, leaving most of my chest visible.

Of course, none of this mentioned the armor positioned over all of this. My arms as stayed before had bulky gauntlets positioned over my forearms, with silver lights running through them. I say they were bulky, but most of the bulk was positioned near my elbows.

My legs, on the other hand, were a bit more in line with what the other goddesses wore, only less high heels and more boots of sorts that ran up to my knees, with an opening on the back of my legs.

My shoulders and back were mostly clear, with the exception of the guard around the back of my neck that was much like a coat collar.

I nodded to myself, before looking at the silver eyes staring back at me, two white power symbols dotted my pupils. I let out a breath, canceling the transformation as I returned to normal. "That's gonna take some getting used to." I said before I walked out of the room.

"It's a good thing you still had ownership of your apartment, huh Bryce?" Said Neptune as she sat on one of the sofas.

"Yeah, just means we'll be here for a bit until the tower is rebuilt," I said, looking at Neptune as she furiously mashed buttons on her controller. "...Hey Neptune… You wouldn't happen to be able to show me your sharicite, would you?"

"Huh?" Neptune raised one of her eyebrows in confusion. "That's a weird request, Bryce…"

"I know, I know, it's just…" I took a moment. "There's something I need to do."

"Hmm… Histy should be with it right now…" Said Neptune, as she motioned to one of the rooms we had converted into an office.

"Right… would you mind coming with me?" I asked as Neptune paused her game.

"...You're being awfully vague about this." Said Neptune, hopping up to me with her finger pointed at me accusingly. "What's going on exactly?"

"...A surprise?" I said, as Neptune just deadpanned at me. "Look, just trust me on this?"

"Fine." Said Neptune, as we walked over to the office. "Histy! You in here?"

"Neptune? Come on in." Said the fairy from the other side of the door. I pushed the door open, as Histoire floated on her book, the Sharicite floating behind her, shining bright, but still not as much as it had before the wonder festival. "What can I help you two with?"

"Could we… borrow the sharicite for something?" I asked as Histoire looked at me. "We're not going to take it anywhere, I just have something I need to do."

"...And what exactly would that be, Bryce?" Asked Histoire, as she looked at me with a serious expression.

"...It… Well… Neptune, could you transform for me? It'd be easier to explain that way." I said, as Neptune blinked but complied as the room filled with light as Purple Heart stood beside me. "Now, I need you to hold your sharicite."

"Alright…" Purple Heart walked over to the sharicite, before picking up the construct with both of her hands and turned to face me. "Now what exactly are you doing?"

I took a deep breath in, before activating my HDD. As the stream of code washed over me and I transformed, I let the breath go. Reaching my hand out in front of me, I let it form.

Every CPU, minus candidates, have a sharicite. It's directly tied with that specific goddess. I'm no different in that regard.

I pushed the construct into existence before me, as Purple Heart and Histoire's eyes widened. I took another breath, before kneeling down before Purple Heart, and lifted my Sharicite towards her.

"...I give you… my everything." I said, looking up at the goddess before me. "If you'll accept it."

There was a tense silence that fell over the room before Purple Heart nodded. The two sharicites lifted off our hands and merged together, my own being overtaken by Purple Heart's.

I looked down at myself, as the silver on my body turned purple and I felt something take root in my soul. I stood up, my now purple hair dipping over my vision for a second before I brushed it aside.

"...Purple Guardian, by your side." I said.

"...Bryce… That was…" Histoire began. "...Where did you learn that?"

I let out a breath as I deactivated my transformation once more. I turned to the oracle of Planeptune and smiled. "You could say… an old friend of yours. She said that you couldn't be doing a better job. Also that you need a vacation. In her own words, it was something like: 'Seriously girl, you're going to work yourself to death if you don't take one!', or something like that."

"...You met her, didn't you?" Asked Histoire, as I nodded. "That's how you learned of…"

"Yeah… she's also a massive troll…" I muttered.

"Yes, she was…" Said Histoire.

"...Neptune has been awfully quiet this entire time." I said, turning to the right to see Purple Heart standing there with tears in her eyes, unmoving. "...Did I… Break her or?"

There was a flash of light, and then something crashing into me as I fell to the floor. "Bryce! You beautiful man you!" Neptune shouted, giving me a bone crushing hug.

"T-thanks Neptune, but you're crushing my windpipes…!" I said as Neptune blinked before she let go. "Thank you…"

"I need to go tell everyone!" Neptune shouted, running out of the room.

"...I take it she knows that was essentially a proposal huh?" I said as Histoire nodded behind me. "Ah, well then. I better go after her."

"It is probably for the best." Said Histoire as I nodded, running out of the room.

"Hey Neptune, wait up!" I shouted, running after the purple haired goddess.

And well… that leads up to right now, me chasing after the goddess of planeptune so we keep the damage to a minimum, and the nation of Planeptune going full force into its recovery from the fight with the goddess of Tari.

To think, this all started with a near-death experience with a dogoo… I honestly expected that to be how I died honestly, but life decided it liked me too much for that to happen. And here we are, the end of the story, for now at least. Maybe something will happen in the future, maybe not. But at the very least, the future's looking brighter than it had about 100 days ago.


	21. Present-Ultradimension: Bad End Syndrome

It's been… several months since Rei Ryghts tried to destroy Gamindustri. In those months… a lot has happened. I merged my sharicite with Neptune's, effectively making so we were engaged, still figuring out the whole wedding bit. I was decreed 'Purple Guardian' after the merging, though Arcadia had pretty much already given me the title earlier.

Planeptune Tower had finished remodeling, and Neptune had apparently put her foot down behind my back and had renamed the damn thing to 'Neptower'. I jabbed at her ego for days after that, good fun.

Shares had been slowly recovering as time went on, to the point that the four nations were back to full strength.

Everything was going perfectly…

...Which is why I shouldn't have been surprised when Nepgear collapsed in front of me yesterday.

"She still out?" I asked, standing next to Neptune as Histoire floated above Planeptune's candidate.

"Unfortunately. She hasn't shown any sign of waking up since she collapsed yesterday." Said Histoire, looking down at Nepgear in concern. The girl in question was tossing and turning and had signs of a high fever.

"She's been like this all night." Said Neptune. The goddess' face was a mesh of distraught and the signs of sleep loss if the bags under her eyes were anything to go by. "I just hope Compa and Iffy get here soon…"

I nodded, a grim look on my face. "Yeah… The timing couldn't have been worse." IF and Compa had been sent off to Leanbox via guild request for an emergency that required both of their skill sets. Of course, this was about two days ago and we received word they were wrapping up over there…

But it was still going to take them a bit to get back here. And that was precious time we were losing with every moment.

"Hey Histy, you got anything down yet?" Asked Neptune.

"Not yet… I think I almost have it narrowed down but I can't be sure…" Responded the Oracle. I let out a sigh as I leaned over to the bucket next to me and wrung the water out of the cloth before placing it against Nepgear's head.

"Neptune!" Said a familiar voice as I turned around to see Green Heart run into the room, still in her CPU form. She looked rather tired, breathing heavily as she entered the room. She looked ahead at the scene in front of her and grimaced. "So it's happened here too…"

"Vert! Why are you here?" Asked Neptune.

"I was down at Lowee having a visit with Blanc, but it was cut short when Rom and Ram collapsed suddenly." Said Vert, transforming back into her human form.

"The CPU Candidates of Lowee as well?" Asked Histoire with a worried look on her face.

"Not just them, but Uni as well." Said Vert. "Noire called me when her sister collapsed. And since Blanc and Noire had to stay with their sisters…"

"You came flying over here to check up on Nepgear to see if it was the same here," I said, confirming Vert's story. "So... all of the candidates have contracted whatever this disease is…"

"Wait… that must be it." Said Histoire as the three of us turned to look at the fairy. "I remember a situation like this once happening to a goddess. They were stricken with an illness that trapped them in never-ending nightmares, most of them involving bad endings."

"Bad endings?" Asked Vert.

"Nepgear…" Said Neptune in concern.

"...Shit… I think I have a good idea on what she's dreaming of right now then…" I said, my hands clenching. I paused as a thought occurred. "Wait, what goddess did this disease infect?"

Histoire let out a sigh. "It was Arcadia. She decided that we needed some adventure and so led a few of us off on a quest. When we returned she had contracted the infection, which she later adequate labeled bad ending syndrome."

I let out a sigh before I felt my phone start to ring in my back pocket. "One sec.." I pulled out the device and swiped the accept call, finding a split video call awaiting me with Blanc and Noire on the other side of the line. "Noire, Blanc, I assume this is about the candidates?"

" _So by the tone of your voice, I can assume Nepgear was infected too?_ " Asked Noire. " _Vert probably filled you in already, but Uni was also infected."_

" _My sisters too._ " Said Blanc. " _I'm especially worried about the inappropriate content of their dreams."_

I let out a sigh. "I can only imagine the hardships those four are going through…" I said. "But we're working on a solution for the problem as we speak. Histoire can probably explain it better."

I tapped a button on the side of the call screen, as a holographic projection flashed in front of everyone. I placed my phone back into my pocket as I looked over at Histoire. "Histoire, you have something that might work, yeah? You did deal with this earlier."

Histoire nodded. "Yes. The illness can be instantly cured with a simple infusion from a particular plant. It's called the strategy guide Daisy."

I felt my eye twitch at the name. "So we're defeating bad endings… with a strategy guide… smooth one Arcadia…" I muttered to myself.

" _Instantly? So where can we find this thing?"_ Asked Noire.

"I'm afraid that the plant has become somewhat rare recently. They used to grow in abundance in a cave near what is now the Lowee-Lastation Border, but that was quite a while ago." Said Histoire.

" _If there's even the smallest chance-_ " Blanc began.

" _Then you bet your ass we'll find it!_ " Finished Noire, cutting off her fellow CPU.

"It seems like that's quite a large gamble." Said Vert. "Just to hedge our bets, is there somewhere else we can look?"

"Unfortunately, I know of no other area which these plants grow. The cave is quite likely the only place in Gamindustri that may have the plant." Said Histoire.

"...That… that's it!" I said, pointing at Histoire. "No place in Gamindustri… Why not try somewhere else?"

"What are you thinking Bryce?" Asked Neptune.

"I concur, what do you have in mind?" Asked Histoire.

I smirked. "Well… we do know of another dimension just like this one that I'm pretty sure is acting in parallel to here…" I said, as what I was saying dawned on the people in the room.

"Plutie's dimension!" Neptune said.

"I must say I didn't think about that." Said Vert. "But how exactly would we get there?"

"We sent Plutia and Peashy back just fine, and if Mini-Histoire was able to contact our Histoire, the opposite should work too, right?" I said.

"That is indeed true." Said Histoire.

"Plus… The Ultradimension also happens to technically take place in a dimension behind us in terms of time. In a way, it's like comparing the first generation of a console to the second or third generation." I said. "And if that's true, there might be the exact same cave in that dimension with an abundance of strategy guides!"

" _That might work._ " Said Noire.

"I would only be able to send two of you over, so one of you three will have to stay behind while the other two transition between dimensions." Said Histoire.

"I'll stay." Said Vert, crossing her arms. "I can stay with Histoire and look after Nepgear while you and Bryce are in the Ultradimension Neptune. Besides, it's your sister, you should be the one going."

"Vert… Alright, let's get going, Bryce!" Said Neptune, launching towards me and landing on my back. I stumbled for a moment to regain balance as Neptune got up onto my shoulders and sat up. "We have a plant to get!"

"Great, but could you get off me first? I don't just give out piggyback rides!"

* * *

"Yahoo!" Neptune let out a cry of joy as we entered free fall above the plains of the Ultradimension. "Dude! This is friggin' amazing! And we'll get to see Plutie!"

"Keep your mind on the objective first Neptune. Nepgear's antidote, and then worry about slumber parties." I said with a smile on my face. "The free fall is nice though."

"Shame on Histy for not telling us she learned how to make interdimensional gates!" Said Neptune, before she pointed forwards towards the sprawling metropolis ahead of us and the giant tower in the center of Ultradimension's Planeptune Tower. "Oh hey, check it out!"

"Guess we'll be seeing Plutia a lot earlier than I expected, huh?" I said.

"Don't forget, we'll be seeing P-ko too!" Said Neptune as we rocketed ahead.

* * *

"Oh man! Oww... I was so totally going to transform and for a ten point landing! What the hell!?" Neptune complained. "And why the hell could you transform when I couldn't!?"

"Maybe the universe passed the grand torch of 'Universal Punching Bag' over to you this time?" I asked with a smirk on my face as I floated down in my HDD form, before returning to normal in a flash of light. I looked up at a Neptune shaped hole that cut through the tree leaves above us. "But man, I thought we were heading to the basilicom… guess Histoire hasn't fully gotten the hang of this yet…"

"Nevermind that! Why didn't you catch me!?" Asked Neptune. "Your beautiful fiance all falling and such! Come on, that's such a shining knight moment you missed there! Are you even paying attention to the romance flags you useless husbando!?"

"Hey, I was just as surprised as you were Neptune!" I said. I let out a sigh. "This certainly is a great start… Huh?"

I turned around to see two forms walk into the clearing that Neptune and I were in. While they were wearing different attire, they were just as if not more recognizable to the two of us.

"Eh? Blanc, Vert?" Neptune asked in confusion. I blinked and turned to look over at Neptune before something caught my attention.

"Uh… Neptune, you uh… kinda landed on someone…" I said as Neptune looked down to see the dazed face of the Ultradimension's version of Noire.

"What!? Ah, I am so sorry!" Said Neptune jumping backwards before she paused. "Wait, it's just Noire. False alarm."

"What do you mean False alarm!?" I exclaimed as the dazed CPU stood up, dusting the leaves off her person.

"Jeez… What's wrong with you!? Randomly falling from the sky on top of people…" U-Noire said. "I certainly hope you have a good explanation for this!"

"This is so weird… shouldn't Noire and Blanc be searching the cave right now?" Asked Neptune, before her eyes widened in realization as she slammed her fist into her open palm. "Oh I get it, this must be the fake Noire! Or… Fakey Noire for short!"

"But it's not shorter… And I am not fake by any stretch of the words." Said U-Noire, her eye twitching. "So, why don't you tell me who the blazes you are!?"

"Okay, break it up, ladies. Let's not tear out each other's throats right now, okay? Okay." I said, stepping between the two. I let out an exasperated sigh. "Let's try this again… My name is Bryce, this hear is-"

"Neppy!" Said a voice off to the side as the five of us turned to see the closet sadist herself run towards us. "Heeeeey!"

"Oh! Plutie!" Neptune waved in return before running off towards the other Purple haired female.

"No, Nep-! Why do I even bother trying to keep things manageable?" I asked no one, watching as the two quickly embraced before separating.

"It's so good to see you! I'm glad you were able to travel here safely." Said Plutia.

"Safely… would be saying a bit much…" I said, walking up next to Neptune. "Nice to see you again Plutia."

"Ah! Bryce! You're not dead! Hurrah!" Said Plutia. I felt my eye twitch at that, not going to lie. "I was worried that might have happened."

"Ah, now it all makes sense, you two must be the CPUs Plutia went to visit." Said U-Vert.

"We're the CPUs that watch over this dimension." Said Blanc.

"Though I don't remember Plutia mentioning that one of your dimensions CPUs was male…" Said Noire.

"That's cause I'm not one of the CPUs," I said, to which Neptune elbowed me. "Well, not officially with the title and all… Look it's a long story."

"Am I the only one confused here?" Asked Neptune.

"Yes," I answered honestly, only to get pouted at. "Oh, don't give me that!"

"Perhaps Histoire could explain it then." Said U-Vert, to which we nodded.

* * *

"What? No, I must have told you girls. There's no way I would have left that out." Said Plutia. "I specifically remembered telling you there was a Noir, a Blanc, and a Vert there."

"Maybe, but you didn't say like creepy clone babies." Said Neptune.

"Not in those words no…" Said Plutia.

"So the me in your dimension, is she really that similar to me?" Asked U-Blanc.

"To be frank, you three are practically shot for shot twins for our dimensions counterparts," I said. "And if I remember correctly, personality wise too…"

"And I'm guessing that the Noire from your dimension is a complete Badass!" Said U-Noire, a smirk on her face.

Neptune's faced turned to a smug look as she prepared the metaphorical Noire-Cannon. "Ah… Looks like another Noire with no Friends…" Said Neptune, shaking her head in mock sorrow.

"What!?" U-Noire exclaimed.

"Okay, that's enough of Noire teasing for now Neptune," I said as the elevator dinged behind. "And I do believe that's our stop!"

"Welcome! I'm glad you came to visit." Said Mini-Histoire, who was floating on a book much smaller than her Hyperdimension's counterpart, probably due to the less vast history in this dimension.

Neptune's face seemed to light up, as she practically teleported in front of the tiny fairy. "Wow! You're even smaller in person! I could eat you in one bite! You are so totally cute!"

"Am I really?" Mini-Histoire asked in a questioning tone.

"We're friends right Plutie? So you wouldn't mind if I kept her, would you?" Asked Neptune.

Plutia smiled, before walking over to Mini-Histoire and picked up the book the fairy was sitting on, moving it away from Neptune in a protective manner. "Now now Neppy." She said.

"You're a meanie." Said Neptune.

"Ah… I missed these moments," I said, walking up next to Neptune. "Nice to see you again, Histoire. I assume you know why we're here?"

"The Histoire from your dimension filled me in. You're in search of the Strategy Guide Daisy, correct?" Histoire said. "I've been researching for the location of the flower and I believe I've found it."

"Strategy Guide Daisy?" Asked U-Noire.

"It's a plant that when mixed into an injection will instantly cure an infectious disease called Bad Ending Syndrome," I said, turning around to look at the Ultradimension's CPUs. "We're here today because there's a situation going on with the CPU Candidates of our dimension that involves said disease."

"CPU Candidates?" Asked U-Vert.

"They're what you'd refer to as siblings to the CPUs." Said Mini-Histoire. "They're a byproduct of an event where so much share energy is built up in the sharicite that the excess amounts split off and become what those from the hyperdimension know as the Candidates."

"Huh?" I blinked as Neptune look off to the side.

"What's up, Neptune?" I asked, turning over to see the girl in question looking off to the side, towards a familiar looking girl in yellow. "...Peashy?"

I watched as Neptune smiled at the girl leaning out behind the tv cabinet across from us before she extended her arms out. "Hey, come give me a hug!" Neptune said with a wide smile on her face.

Peashy looked at Neptune with confusion for a moment. "Neptun… Nep…?"

"Huh?" Neptune breathed out in confusion before her smile fell a bit. Just as quickly, however, she recovered with a patient smile that formed on her face. "Oh, it's okay, really! You can call me Neptune, or Neptuna… I don't care, you can call me anything!"

"Now come on, give me a big hug!" Neptune said again, arms extending once more.

I watched as the young girl in yellow in front of us took a step towards us, and then another. "Neptune…" Peashy said before she broke into a sprint towards Neptune. "Neptuna!"

"Oh, P-ko!" Neptune said, tears forming in her eyes as she charged ahead as well.

"Aw, this is nice." Said Plutia.

"Wait for it." I said, a pleasant smile forming on my face.

I watched as the two girls closed in each other, yelling their names as they got within hugging distance before Peashy pushed off the ground and headbutted Neptune in the gut, lifting the poor girl off the ground. "Gah!" Neptune breathed out as Peashy cried in joy. "C-crap!"

I watched as the two hit the ground a few feet away from me. I chuckled at the scene, it really had been a while since it's been this animated. Peashy laughed in her apparent victory over the tyrant 'Neptuna', before falling down and hugging the CPU. "Neptuna, you're so weak!"

"If it was any other context, I wouldn't think this scene to be as heartwarming as it is." I said, nodding to myself.

"Well... I'm glad to see you've fully recovered, P-ko…" Neptune groaned out. "Boy, you're strong!"

"Right, Histoire you said you knew where we could find the daisy, right?" I asked.

* * *

"You're telling me THAT is where the Plant thingies are!?" Neptune said in shock as we stared up at the massive tower that pierced the clouds. The tower was surrounded by dark skies and a gloomy atmosphere.

"It's most commonly known as The Cursed Hell Devil Death Bloody Spectral Tower." Said U-Blanc. "My cheat guide says it's at the top, all the way at the 10,000th floor."

"Ten thousand floors!?" I exclaimed. "Jesus Christ, who makes a tower that tall!?"

"That name is not exactly comforting, are there like super strong monster up in there?" Asked Neptune in worry.

"Yes, to put it mildly." Said U-Vert to Neptune's dismay.

"We wouldn't normally come here either, not unless it was an emergency like this one." Said U-Noire.

"Wait… are you coming with us?" Asked Neptune.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad they are. I'd rather not go on a raid with only two people, especially with one of said people having been put under restrictions… no offense Neptune."

"It's dangerous to go alone. You and Bryce can't transform Neppy, so we'd feel real bad if you died." Said Plutia.

"And I'm coming too!" Said Plutia. "Cause you're so weak and all."

"Wow Plutie, thank you so much." Said Neptune, tears forming in her eyes. "You're the best, I love you guys!" I smiled, resting an arm around Neptune.

"And while they have a point, they aren't all right in that regard," I said, holding out my hand as the holographic CPU Memory formed. I nodded to the group before dismissing the hologram. "I at the very least am able to transform, so we'll have that under our sleeve."

"Yeah, why are you able to transform here when I can't! Talk about Unfair!" Neptune said, pushing my arm off her shoulder.

"It is most likely due to Bryce using a CPU Memory to become a CPU." Said Mini-Histoire. "The CPUs of this dimension becomes as such when they use a CPU Memory like Bryce did."

"How did you get your hands on a Memory anyways? Plutia said your dimension didn't have any." U-Noire asked.

"You can thank Plutia for that one. She apparently snuck one with her when she came to our dimension." I said.

"Actually, I kinda forgot I had it with me…" Said Plutia, looking off to the side.

"Of course you did…" U-Noire sighed.

"Listen! You have a tight time restraint, okay?" Said Histoire. "The gate back to your dimension opens in three hours and closes shortly after!"

"Yeah, how exactly do you even manage those gates anyways, there like a universal code for our dimension or something?" I asked.

"That's correct. It's not in any written language you would know, however." Said Mini-Histoire. "Here's this dimension's code for an example."

I watched as strange letters flew in front of us before they formed a single line of text. I felt myself laugh at this, before taking out my phone and snapping a picture of the code.

"What's so funny?" Asked Neptune.

"It's English!" I said as the others looked at me in confusion. "I know English was the business language of the world, but I didn't know the universe ran off it too!"

"You can understand it?" Asked Mini-Histoire.

"It literally translates to 'Ultra-Dimension'," I said with a laugh.

"Here." Said Plutia, handing me two timers, which immediately began to count down from three hours. I passed one over to Neptune as I strapped mine to my jacket.

"It's imperative you make it to that opening in time! If you miss it the next one isn't for three years!" Said Histoire.

"For real?" Neptune said.

"Shit, so we're on a really tight schedule then… We gotta hurry along then." I said, looking back at the tower. "But 10,00 floors… How are we going to make it up and down those floors in three hours, and still have time to get back to the basilicom?"

"According to the cheat book, there's apparently a warp point at the top of the tower that will take you back to the bottom." Said U-Blanc, scanning the lines of text on the book in her hands. "It's doable if we only have to take the trip one way."

"That's still a tall order though…" Neptune said with a sigh. I crossed my arms and looked back up at the tower.

"Well, we don't really have much time to stand around waiting here." I said cracking my knuckles. "We gotta get all up in there and wreck some shit till we get flowers yeah?"

"Yeah! Get ready you Cursed Blah Blah Tower, here we come!" Neptune shouted at the tower, throwing her arm up with a challenging smirk.

"Yeah!" Everyone else around me raised their arm in agreement. I continued to stare at the tower in uncertainty.

"I have a bad feeling about all this…" I muttered to myself silently.

* * *

"It sure was convenient that we found an elevator that takes us from floor 4 to floor 9,999! And they say cheaters never prosper!" Said Neptune as the elevator doors opened in front of us.

"Still, those four floors did eat away at our time more than I'd of liked. Just accessing the elevator was a chore with the enemies that were blocking the way…" I muttered, looking down at the timer. "Half an hour getting to the elevator, and two hours riding the damn thing up… We skipped a shit-ton of enemies but we only have half an hour left…"

"And it was really cramped in there too… I was getting a little sleepy…" Said Plutia.

"It says we have to find a warp point, that's the only way to get from here to the top." Said U-Blanc, looking down at her cheat guide once more.

U-Noire leaned over her shoulder. "What's that part about powerful monsters? This floor's loaded with them?" U-Noire asked.

"Yes, and they're here to great us." Said U-Vert, holding her hand up towards the approaching monsters. I watched with increasing dread as more and more seemed to pile up behind the initial row.

"They look like they're made of tough stuff." Said U-Blanc, before she rolled her neck with a satisfying crack as her eyes shadowed over, her left eye lighting up red as she cracked her knuckles. "Heh, this should be fun." There was a flash of colour as U-Blanc transformed, her HDD outfit gaining a red and white colour scheme that looked remarkably similar to the Famicom's look.

"I want to play too." Said U-Vert, as green light swirled around her form, before her HDD form stepped out, the colour design more black in comparison to the white of the Vert from our dimension.

"You just leave these punks to us!" Said U-White Heart.

"Go on ahead to the warp point." Said U-Green Heart.

"Thanks guys!" Said Neptune. "We'll gladly take you up on that offer."

"Let's get moving!" I said, picking Peashy up in a piggyback as we ran off to the side, leaving the army of monsters to the two transformed CPUs.

"Ah! Hey look Brick, there are two white thingies up there!" Said Peashy, pointing over my shoulder.

"Even in this dimension that typo finds route to torment me…" I muttered, before several flashes of light appeared before us, as a row of robotic monsters in knights armour spawned ahead of us. "Damn!"

"It appears we were too slow!" Said U-Noire, quickly flashing in a beam of light before she transformed into her CPU form, her outfit more grey than I last remembered.

"My turn too!" Said Plutia, as she also transformed into her CPU form.

"Alright you cretins, bring it on!" Yelled U-Black Heart.

"And don't worry Neppy, I won't let anything stop you from getting off." Said Iris Heart, looking back at us with a smirk.

"I'm going to ignore the double entendre there and just go." Said Neptune with a shaky laugh.

"Dammit… Beat me by two seconds." I said before we turned and ran down the side path as Iris Heart and U-Black Heart kept the monsters at bay.

"Found them!" Said Neptune as we slowed down to reach two famicom looking consoles, one with an 'Out' cartridge and one with an 'Up Stairs' Cartridge. Neptune began to reach for the 'Out' cartridge, before realizing her mistake and reaching over to the 'Up Stairs' cart. "Whoa! Almost picked the wrong one!"

Teleporting isn't something new, but it's still weird to experience as we warped up to the top floor. I let out a sigh of relief as my feet touched the ground. "And here we are, Top Floor!" Neptune cheered in victory.

"The flowers should be around here…" I muttered, looking down at the timer. "We got 24 minutes Neptune!"

"I'll help you find them!" Said Peashy, as she jumped off my back and began running down one of the halls.

"Yeah, let's split up!" Said Neptune as she ran down the hallway to the front.

I let out a breath before running down the hallway to my left.

* * *

"Where are they?" I asked myself, turning a corner. A faint scream filled my ears as I turned to my right, the sound getting louder. "Neptune?"

"Bryce!" Neptune screamed as she ran towards me with a bundle of flowers in her arms, followed closely behind by god damned dragon!?

"What the hell did you do this time to piss that thing off!?" I exclaimed.

"He's freakin' ginormous! Run for it!" Shouted Neptune, the dragon hot on her tail.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" I shouted, spinning on my heel and kicking off the ground, going into a full sprint as Neptune slowly caught up to me. "Oh god are we screwed!"

I swerved around a corner with Neptune close behind, only to see three other monsters blocking our way. Two of them were flying whales with horns on their heads and one was just a giant freakin' snake. "OH COME ON!" I shouted, before the wall behind us burst open as the dragon from two seconds ago joined the party. "AND THEN THERE'S _THIS_ ASSHOLE!"

"Neptuna!" I looked over my shoulder to see Peashy charge past the snake and jump into the air, transforming in a flash of yellow before exiting the transformation as Yellow Heart as she kicked the dragon in front of us in an impressive show of moves.

"Thanks, P-ko!" Said Neptune.

"Neptuna, Brick, run, get out of here. Go home!" Said Yellow Heart before she charged back into the fray.

Neptune seemed to pause, before she nodded. "Right, give it your best!" She yelled back, as we turned around to run away from the fight and towards the warp point which was slowly coming into focus. "We're almost there!"

"Wah! S-stop do-oing tha-at!" I slowed to a stop as Yellow Heart was dragged from left to right by the giant snake as it wrapped its tail around Yellow Heart's leg. "Let me go!"

"Hey Bryce." Said Neptune, before I turned and pointed to the goddess before she could start. "Whu-"

"Don't. I know what you're thinking, but don't even think about it." I said.

"But P-ko needs help!" Said Neptune.

"Which is why you're going to that warp point, and I'm going to help Peashy." I said, narrowing my eyes. "You can't transform, I can. And I hate saying it but all you'll be is dead weight if you go try and help Peashy."

"But-" Neptune began before I cut her off.

"I'm not losing you!" I yelled, looking up at Neptune. "I've already lost so much… my world… my life… My hand that one time… Not you… Now go, we don't have much time left. You need to get back to the basilicom so you can get home."

"But you'll be stuck here!" Said Neptune.

"For three years, yeah." I said, turning back to Peashy. "But the alternative? What if you don't make it…? Just once, I don't want to be the guy sitting back and watching as the ones I love fight a battle I can fight just as much… I had enough of that when I first arrived… I'm not standing for that again…"

"...Come back." Said Neptune, as she pulled my face down and kissed me. We pulled apart a moment later as she stared into my soul.

"I understand. Besides, it's three years. I think I can find something to do to kill time with." I said with a smirk. I turned back towards Yellow Heart with a determined look on my face. "Now get going already! I think Nepgear has seen enough of the conquest ending to last a few life times with how long we've taken!"

"Got it!" Neptune shouted, running over to the warp point as I stared at the battle ahead of me.

"...Let's do this." I said, breaking into a sprint as I charged forwards. "Want some help, Peashy!?"

I crouched down before flying up, transforming midway before extending my armblade as I cut the tail holding Peashy up off the ground. "That was awesome!" I exclaimed, as I flipped into a superhero styled landing. "Bit hard on the knees though…"

"Brick? Is that you!?" Asked Yellow Heart as she floated down in front of me. "You're smaller now!"

"In this form, I'm known as the 'Purple Guardian'!" I said with a smug smirk, nose pointed upwards. "Yes yes, I am awesome!"

I looked up at the now taller Yellow Heart and gave her a challenging smirk. "Want to see who can take out the most?"

"Oh! You're on!" She yelled back as we both jumped into the air and charged the monsters.

* * *

"This… could've gone better…" I muttered, as I leaned against the stone wall for support, my transformation having failed moments ago. I stared up at the approaching monsters, as more and more seemed to spawn in. "This… this is just absurd!"

I looked to the side, watching as Yellow Heart was batted from left to right in rapid succession. I winced, both from the sight and the pain that wracked my body.

I looked ahead, watching as the giant dragon from before raised it's arm up once more.

"...Sorry Neptune… I don't think I'll be back in three years time…" I said, as the arm came crashing down.

* * *

"UUUUAAAAAAAAAAGH!" The scream ripped through my throat as I sat up, breathing heavily as my mind tried to analyse the area around me. I breathed deeply as muffled voices filled the blurry space around me. "W-wha? What just-?"

"He's awake!" Said a familiar voice as I felt someone crash into me, knocking me onto my back, knocking the air out of my lungs.

I looked up as my vision cleared up, showing Neptune's face overtop of mine. "Nep...tune?" I asked as I looked up. "Wait, what's going on?"

"You were stuck in a repeated look of bad endings." Said a voice to my left. I looked over to see Histoire, Nepgear, Vert, IF, Compa, Plutia and Peashy all standing a few feet away from me. Histoire continued. "It's all right, you're fine now."

"What? What are you talking about? Wasn't Nepgear and the other Candidates the ones with the Bad Ending Syndrome?" I asked in confusion. "And IF, Compa, weren't you two out in Leanbox for a guild mission? Why is Plutia and Peashy here? Weren't we just at that 10,000 floor tower place in the ultra dimension?"

"Wow… his dreams sure match up with our story…" Said Plutia, as the others stared at me with wide eyes.

"Huh?"

"Me and the others weren't infected Bryce, you were. You collapsed in front of me last night and were tossing and turning the entire time you were asleep." Said Nepgear.

"You had us worried there buster!" Said Neptune, getting off of me as she pointed at me with a glare.

"Huh?"

"I think he's broken…" Said Plutia.

"Typical…" Muttered IF as she shook her head.

"We'll explain the situation to you later, Bryce, but for now it's probably for the best you go and get some action rest now." Said Vert.

"...Oh… Okay?" I said in confusion, before closing my eyes and going back to sleep.

Seriously, what just happened!?

* * *

 **(Five Days Later)**

"Hey, Neptune? Histoire? Nepgear? Anyone there?" I asked as I walked into the main room. "Probably off somewhere…"

I let out a sigh, dropping onto one of the bean bag chairs. So it turns out my adventures to the Ultra Dimension were nothing more than a dream caused by the Bad Ending Syndrome. Although it was a surprisingly accurate dream.

Somewhere, _SomeHOW_ , the true goddess Arcadia is rolling around in laughter at my misery, I just know it.

I let out a sigh as I stood up. "Well, no use thinking too much on it. Might as well get something to eat and-huh?'

I paused as I passed the dining room table, a book remarkably similar to the one Histoire would ride on sat right on top of the table. I raised an eyebrow, before picking the book up and walking back into the main room with it.

"This is weird…" I muttered, flipping over the book as I skimmed through page after page. "Can't understand any of it though…"

Just then I felt a sudden wash of energy pass over me, as I stumbled for a second. "The hell?" I asked, looking around, before the sound of flipping pages caught my attention. I looked down at the book in my hands, as the pages flipped over and flew out of the book. As they achieved airtime they began to swirl around me in a cyclone of pages, before a beam of Purple, Green, Black and White shot out of the book and hit the ceiling, as a portal of blue light seemed to open from above me.

"What is happening right now!?" I asked in confusion, before I felt myself lift off the ground, losing my hold in the book in the process as I flew up into the portal. I let out a shout of "Neptune!" before I was engulfed.

With that last cry, the portal closed shut, the pages flying in the air began to float to the ground, some of them lighting ablaze before turning to ash as they hit the carpeted floor of the room. The hardcover of the book lying still on the ground, all of it's pages ripped free from it's spine, either scattered around or burnt to ash.


	22. 2-D Chapter 1: Tax Evasion!

"I said wake up!"

"Gah!" I let out a yelp as I threw myself upwards, only to tumble off the bed I was lying on, landing face first on the ground. "Ow…"

"Alright, I'm up! I'm up!" I said, pushing myself up onto my feet. I looked ahead before pausing as I stared at the uniformed soldier in front of me. "...Uh, hi?"

"What are you doing here? This house is marked as abandoned?" Asked the Soldier, a surprisingly masculin voice coming out of his mouth.

"...Huh?" I said in confusion as I looked around the room. It honestly didn't look abandoned, but I couldn't really be sure. "...Why am I here?

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" The Soldier asked again.

"Ack, sorry!" I said, looking back at the Soldier.

"What's even going on down at HQ… This is the second house marked as abandoned but they still apparently have people living in them…" The Soldier muttered to himself before he looked back up at me. "Please hand me your software for the municipal tax!"

"...I'm sorry, software? Do I look like a developer to you?" I asked in confusion. "And what are you talking about? What municipal tax?"

"Are you stupid? It's your civic duty." Said the Soldier. "You've paid 2D game taxes before, right?"

"...2D… Game taxes." I said, raising an eyebrow incredulously. "You're kidding me right? I'm supposed to pay taxes, with 2D Games…?"

"Are you screwing with me? This is the second time today someone has said that… Who are you? What are you doing in this house?" Asked the Soldier.

"Uh… I'm… Bryce, Bryce Bridged…" I said, jabbing a thumb at myself before pausing to think for a moment. "And… I… Huh… How the hell did I end up here?"

"Don't tell me… You too?" Asked the Soldier, to which I blinked in confusion. "Do you also have amnesia?"

"...Maybe?" I said in confusion. "I dunno…"

' _Maybe in the short term though…_ ' I thought, trying to think back to the past day. ' _I was just finished with recovering from the Bad End Syndrome and then…_ '

"So, you don't have your taxes, and therefore cannot pay them.." Said the Soldier. "You also don't remember who you are. What are the odds of this happening a second time in a day, better yet an hour…"

"I'm sorry… what do you mean second time?" I asked, as the Soldier looked up at me.

"Oh, there was a girl who also seems to be in the same predicament as you." Said the Soldier, before he let out a sigh. "You need to head to the guild. The girl I just mentioned should be heading there right now as well. I have some friends who might be able to help you two."

"...Thanks?" I said confused. "No offense, but why exactly...?"

"Am I helping you?" The Soldier asked. "Well, it's personal but… It's just… My lover also had amnesia once, so I sort of get what you're going through."

' _Wow, this guy has an actual backstory… what dimension did I end up in where a GUY has a backstory?_ ' I thought in amazement.

"Right, head on out and ask around, someone should be able to point you in the right direction." Said the Soldier, turning around to open the door as I was left in the house on my own.

"...What the hell is going on?" I muttered in annoyance, looking down in confusion. "...Shit, can't remember how I got here…"

I opened to the door with a sigh, before taking a step out into the outside world. "...This area… looks a little familiar, but I can't place my finger on it…"

I sighed, looking around to see if anyone around could point me in the right direction. "Excuse me?" I asked an old looking man who was standing a few feet away from me. "Where am I right now?"

"Where are you? This is the city of Lastation!" Said the man, the new information making my eyes widened. "You lost or something?"

"Yeah… A little." I said. "Looking for the Guild."

"Ah, head down that direction and you should eventually see it." Said the man, pointing to the right.

"Thanks!" I said, giving a brief wave before I turned and started walking down the path. "Lastation? Last time I checked Lastation was a lot more steampunk and less… Runic? Is that how I'd describe this place? What the hell did I get myself into-Woah!"

"Wah!?"

I felt myself walk into something, or someone, as the two of us were knocked to the ground. I let out a groan of annoyance before pushing myself up into a sitting position. "Ow… what did I crash in…"

I trailed off as I watched the girl in front of me push herself off of the ground. "Hey, who do you think you are, buster! You can't just go running into people all willy nilly like that!" Said a familiar voice as Neptune glared at me.

"Uh…" And like that, my words decided to fail me at the moment, while I was left stunned like a freaking idiot.

"Uh, are you okay? Did you break in the crash?" Neptune asked in confusion as she waved a hand in front of my face. "Hello?"

"Huh? Oh!" I stood up, my eyes not trailing off the girl in front of me. I rubbed the back of my neck as I looked down at Neptune. "I am SO sorry about that… I got distracted and well..."

"Nah, it's all good! No one really got hurt and you don't seem like the kind of guy to do that normally." Said Neptune, as she smiled. "Ah, introductions. I'm Neptune!"

"...Bryce, Bryce Bridged…?" I said, my body running through the motions while my mind tried to figure out what was going on right now.

"Well, I better be off, I got to go to the guild for something…" Said Neptune, brushing herself off.

"Wait, you're going to the guild?" I asked.

"Yep!" Neptune responded.

"Huh, neat. Same here." I said, dusting myself off. "...You don't happen to have amnesia, do you?"

"Woah! How did you know that?" Asked Neptune.

"Soldier guy said that there was a girl who was suffering from amnesia that was also heading to the guild." I said.

"Wait, so do you have Amnesia too?" Neptune asked, looking at me.

"Maybe? It's more short term than anything." I said, crossing my arms. "I remember a lot of things, but from the past day... I'm drawing a blank. I honestly don't know how I got here, and I certainly don't remember there being a 2D tax two days ago…"

"Well, we're in the same boat then I guess, albeit slightly modified in your case, so do you wanna go look for the guild?" Said Neptune, looking around.

"Sure." I said, following after Neptune as we walked down the street.

' _...What's going on? Why is Neptune here? And Amnesia? I thought that was only a Re;Birth 1/OG thing…'_ My thoughts buzzed as we walked down the street. ' _There are a few things that don't match up with my world's Neptune though… The most noticeable is her D-Pad Hairclips.'_

See, the day after I recovered from the Bad Ending Syndrome, Neptune and Peashy got into a bit of a tussle, and long story short, Neptune's Right D-Pad Hairclip got a little banged up in the aftermath. It wasn't anything major, just a few scratches, and some of the paint fading on the lines of the clip. The next few days she was still wearing the battle scarred hair clip so I can only assume she didn't mind it.

' _So seeing her wearing a brand new one is setting off a few flags, but that isn't enough to really get a conclusion.'_ I thought.

"Excuse me, do you know where the guild is?" Asked Neptune, breaking me out of my thoughts as we turned to look at a boy standing a few feet away from us.

He gave us a deadpanned look, before nudging his head to his right and walking off past us.

"Rude…" Neptune muttered, before I tapped her shoulder as she looked to me.

"I think he meant that…" I said, pointing up at a building that matched the other buildings in the area, a sign labeled: 'Guild' hanging over the open entryway.

"Oh…" Neptune said in understanding, before chuckling nervously as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Now don't I feel dumb!"

"Shall we?" I asked, turning to look at Neptune.

"Sure, not going to advance the plot any other way." She responded, taking a step inside.

"There's the meta humor…" I said, following after her.

"This is the Guild, right?" Asked Neptune as we walked inside. "Gloomier than I imagined.

"Doesn't seem that bad…" I said, looking at the four masked soldiers standing in front of us, one of them including the soldier from earlier.

"You made it!" Said the Soldier.

"Bwah! U-Umm…" Neptune jumped back a step, an action that caused me to snort as I tried to hold in my laughter.

"Take it easy. You hungry? I'll bring you guys some snacks." Said the Soldier.

"Yippee! You read my mind!" Said Neptune with stars in her eyes.

"Thanks…" I said watching Neptune in confusion.

* * *

A few minutes later and we were sitting down at the table, the soldiers each with a mug of what I assumed to be beer, or something similar considering the foam dripping off the sides of their mugs. There was a plate of cookies and other such snacks placed in front of me and Neptune, along with two cups of what I assumed to be tea.

I had two seconds to process the new information before Neptune snatched three cookies and shoveled them in her mouth, happily munching away at her new treat.

"You'll both need a job until your memories come back." Said the Soldier, who had explained his status of Captain to us while one of his soldiers went to fetch the snacks. "Bombyx Mori can help you."

"Bombyx Mori?" I asked in confusion, Neptune mirroring my expression of confusion.

"You two really don't remember anything, huh?" Said the Captain. "That's okay. I can teach you."

"Make it snappy, will ya?" Neptune said, taking another cookie.

"You're very carefree, aren't you?" Noted the Captain.

"With amnesia like hers… I'm not too surprised." I said.

"Alright, so Bombyx Mori, under the leadership of the kid… er, Filyn, run Gamindustri." Said the Captain. I leaned forwards, this was the kind of backstory I needed on this dimension. A place to establish my bases, though considering the name Bombyx Mori is completely alien to me, I was likely in a dimension that I hadn't seen through any of the Neptunia media that was available in September of 2017.

"The kid?" Asked Neptune.

"Forget I said that." Said the Captain.

"Forgotten." I said, nodding.

"Filyn is a hard worker who just wants to see Gamindustri flourish." Said the Captain.

"She sounds like a good leader." Said Neptune.

' _I want to ask why Neptune thinks it's a girl he's talking about, but this is Gamindustri, so it's most likely a girl…_ ' I thought to myself.

"She really is. Although… there are some that would disagree with that…" Said the Captain. "They call themselves the Resistance. Watch out for them. They're not good people."

"The Resistance? I'll be careful!" Neptune said, a tone of worry in her words.

' _A resistance huh? Okay, there could be mutliple reasons for one existing, don't immediately jump to stereotypes of the resistance being the good guys…'_ I thought to myself. "Understood."

"Don't worry though: Bombyx Mori is here." Said the Captain, a line that sounded oddly practiced. He then stood up and raised his mug. "So… welcome. Everyone! Let's toast our new members!"

"Eh, what?" Neptune said in confusion.

"I'm just as confused as you…" I muttered to her quietly.

"All hail Filyn!" Said the Captain.

"All hail Filyn!" The rest of his squad echoed.

"Okay, newbies, time for your first tax-collecting assignment. I'll give you a map." Said the Captain.

"Whaaaat?" Neptune asked in confusion, looking down at the map, before looking back up at the Captain. "Couldn't my first assignment be to take care of these snacks?"

"No. Go already." Said the Captain, as Neptune awkwardly shuffled out, while I walked behind her with a bad feeling down my spine.

* * *

"So no offense, but did we just get recruited to the military?" I asked Neptune as we walked out of Lastation's border into the wild. "Because I think we just did…"

"I'm starting to think this was a bad idea…" Said Neptune in dismay, before she looked up. "Whoa, is that an enemy?"

"Huh?" I looked up to see a dogoo standing on the other side of the stone bridge. "...That's a Dogoo…"

"I think it's gonna attack us!" Said Neptune.

"It's literally standing still…" I muttered.

"I'm unarmed, what should I do?" Asked Neptune, rummaging around the ground. "Oh! I found a Cypress Stick!"

"How does that even work!?" I asked, before aiming one of my arms up and pressing down with my ring and middle finger. When nothing happened, I looked down at my wrists to find them clean and clear. "Shit, forgot my shooters… And I also forgot my gun… and everything else… Yay…"

I looked over at Neptune. "Don't suppose you found anything else?"

"Nope!" Said Neptune, brandishing her weapon. "This should do it! Alright, I'll nep you up!"

I let out a sigh as Neptune charged forwards with reckless abandon, swinging her stick at the Dogoo, who let out a whine and fell down to the ground as Neptune cheered to herself. "La la la la, la la, la, la la!"

"Was… was that victory fanfare?" I asked.

"I might not remember much, but I still know how to pack a punch!" Said Neptune.

"You hit it with a stick, It isn't that complex of an idea." I said, walking up to Neptune. I looked down at the Dogoo, who looked up at me whining. I had the strange feeling it wanted to join my party, and another feeling it wanted nothing to do with Neptune.

"It wants to be my friend? Could it be? Am I… a Hero!? That's what it means, right?" Neptune turned to ask me.

"Technically speaking, a Dogoo is categorized as a monster, so if it wants to join you, you may just be a villain gaining power." I remarked.

"Or the Dogoo will become my new mask as I fight the shadows of corruption across the land!" Said Neptune, as I felt my eye twitch. Neptune then turned around and walked away. "Sorry! I'm busy right now!"

"...Sorry?" I said in confusion as I walked away from the Dogoo and followed Neptune.

* * *

"You know, for something that's supposed to be an Outskirts, we went pretty far to get here…" I said as we walked into the outskirts of Lastation.

"Oh don't worry about it!" Said Neptune as I looked ahead to see another Soldier of Bombyx Mori standing a few feet away from us.

"You're the newbies, right?" Asked the Soldier. "You're late, what gives?"

"You're the people who gave the amnesiacs a map and basically said, go nuts." I muttered. "But no… It's our fault, I see how it is…"

"I was a bit busy being a hero! It's okay though, I've moved on!" Said Neptune, a smug smile on her face while I rolled my eyes off to the side.

"Whatever. We're about to begin collecting. You two can just watch for now." Said the Soldier, turning around.

"Understood." I said, before looking over at Neptune with a deadpan. "You know, for some reason I don't buy that, Neptune."

"Oh hush you." She said, pouting at me.

"Your last payment went above and beyond the call of duty! Lady Filyn commends you!" Said a voice as I turned my head to look at a girl in a mechanic looking outfit, complete with goggles, as she held up an orange cartridge for what looked like a knockoff famicom. "Congratulations! A round of applause for you!"

"Who's that?" I asked in confusion.

"That's Lady Ester Zira, Bombyx Mori's number three." Said the Bombyx Mori Soldier.

"Number three, huh? So she's one of the big dogs." Said Neptune.

"Thanks… Here's this month's payment… a new cartridge… I hope it's okay…" Said the man opposite of Ester Zira.

"Haha! Excellent!" Said Ester Zira. "Thank you very much. Blessed is the citizen who pays on time."

"A cartridge? In this day and age?" Asked Neptune in confusion.

"What are you saying? Cartridges are the latest and greatest in advanced technology." Said the Soldier.

"But of that size?" I muttered. "Even 3ds carts were smaller than that…"

"Onward! Games games games! If it's not a cartridge, you're going to be in pain pain pain!" Said Ester Zira as she hovered past us, using what looked like a robot strapped to her back as her source of propulsion.

"That's… disturbing." I muttered, turning around to watch as a girl with reddish orange hair and the same styled mask walked up to the Soldier.

"Hey, you, they're calling you." Said the Girl. "Want me to switch with you and watch these two?"

"Oh, me? Hm! Yes, I'll leave them to you. See you." Said the Soldier, clearly happy to have us off of his hands.

"Alrighty, see ya!" Said Neptune as the Soldier walked off.

"Heh. What a lively greeting. You're a good one, aren't you?" Asked the Girl to Neptune.

"Aw, shucks." Neptune responded, tapping her foot against the ground in a display of probably fake bashfulness.

"Don't praise her too much, her ego is barely contained as is." I said with a smirk.

"Hey!" Neptune cried out in retort.

"Are you two the newbies with memory loss I've been hearing about?" Asked the girl.

"I've already gotten a reputation, huh? Figures." Said Neptune. "And eventually, into legend…"

"Yeah, I don't think you want to be remembered for being: 'The one with the Amnesia'. Unless you do in which case your choice I guess." I said, a smirk on my face.

"And reputation is a strong word… It's more like a rumor." Said the girl with a laugh.

"Either way, I'm Neptune! Nice to meet yah!" Said Neptune.

"And I'm Bryce, Bryce Bridged." I said, placing my hands in my pockets.

"You both still remember your name, huh?" The girl noted.

"Well, the title of this game has 'Neptunia' in it after all." Said Neptune, before she turned to look at me. "And Bryce is… Well… I don't really know."

"And that's the fun part about amnesia, it's kinda like a big 'ol randomizer. Never know what you'll forget or remember…" I said.

"Good news for you! Filyn adored your cartridge! She gave it a four star rating!" Said Ester Zira a few blocks away.

"A… four star rating?" I asked in confusion.

"Thank you so much. All hail Filyn." Said a woman opposite of Ester Zira.

"Filyn's one of the good ones, huh? Everyone seems so happy to get her approval." Said Neptune.

"I wonder…" Said the girl before she looked from side to side. "Let me give you some advice: Stay away from Bombyx Mori."

"...Because it won't be around much longer." Said the Girl, before she turned around and left.

I felt a chill run up my spine, a feeling of unease kick in as the Soldier from before walked back towards us. "Hey, where'd that officer go?" He asked in confusion.

"...The bathroom, maybe? I dunno." I said, turning around.

"I've never seen her… so pretty." Said the Soldier. "I should find out where her office is…"

"Oh. Um. Am I going to need to talk to HR about this?" Neptune asked.

"You can't remember any details about your life, but the concept of Human Resources is something your brain decided you'd still need post amnesia?" I asked in confusion.

"Alright, listen up, newbies." Said the Soldier as we turned to face him. "Lady Ester will return to base after collections. Run along and meet her there."

"What? Why me? It sounds… um… above my paygrade!" Neptune said, fumbling with her words.

"Neptune, we haven't even been paid yet so even a paygrade is still a mystery to us." I whispered, before rolling my neck and speaking up. "Ignore her. Does it have something to do with registration?"

"No, nothing like that. It's tradition for newcomers to go meet Lady Ester. But… actually…" The soldier trailed off. "It did seem like Lady Ester saw her just a moment ago."

"...Her?" Neptune and I asked together.

"Eh, you'll hear this soon enough I guess. Lady Filyn has an… obsession." Said the Soldier. "Lady Ester is trying to capture a certain someone to bring to Lady Filyn."

I thought back to the girl in the soldier's mask from a few seconds ago and her words. The thought crossed my mind of that being the someone in question, but I couldn't be sure so I left it off to the side.

"So, whenever Lady Ester sees that girl, she drops everything and tries to catch her." Finished the Soldier. "Which is to say… you might not be able to see Lady Ester until later."

"What?" Neptune asked in confusion.

"Yep. The number one feels differently though. She just wants to, uh… destroy her." The Soldier said.

"That… seems oddly specific." I said.

"You know, Lady Ester might return sooner than I think, so you should head to base." Said the Soldier.

"Got it…" I said, turning around with Neptune as the two of us walked out of the Lastation Outskirts.

* * *

"Why do we gotta walk this whole way if Lady Ester might not be there? This is hazing!" Said Neptune as we stopped walking.

"I'm honestly considering deserting at this point." I said, letting out a sigh. "Huh?"

I looked up, watching as a woman with silver hair walked past us in a brisk pace before dropping a book in front of us and continuing on her way.

"Hey, they dropped something…" Said Neptune. "A book?"

I reached down and picked up the book. It was Purple in color, the cover, spine and back all decorated with dull gold pattering, the most noticeable detail was the two butterfly wing shaped patterns in a similar color. "Strange… It… seems almost… familiar…"

"You gonna be okay there?" Asked Neptune.

I felt the book almost hum in my hands, before flashes of light danced in my mind, as memories briefly forgotten threw themselves back into my head. I let out a gasp, dropping the book in the process. "Wait a sec… You're the reason I'm in this mess!" I shouted, grabbing the dropped book with my left hand.

"Woah! Bryce, you're yelling at a book!" Said Neptune.

"...Yeah, I don't think it'll help me much now…" I said, opening the book and peering at it's pages. "I… think I recognize that now…"

"You're acting pretty weird right now, not gonna lie." Said Neptune.

"I'll explain a bit later, but we should probably let that girl know she dropped her book…" I said, Neptune nodding along as she turned around.

"Hey, lady! You dropped your book!" Neptune yelled, as we waited a few seconds as the girl walked back. Her eyes widened as if in recognition of Neptune, before they darted to me, still holding the book.

"You… why are you…?" She asked in confusion.

"Huh? Do I know you?" Asked Neptune in confusion.

"That's right… but why… Hey, what are you doing here?" Asked the girl, before she looked at me. "And better yet, who is he?"

"I'm Bryce. Bryce Bridged. And do you want the short or long story?" I asked.

"Um, well. We've been sent out this way by Bombyx Mori. We're new recruits and…" Neptune began, only for the girl to cut her off.

"You're with them!? No, no, no, that's no good." Said the girl. "You need to come with me right away!"

"What!?" Neptune asked in confusion.

"What's going on here?" I asked in confusion.

"I found her! Over here!" Shouted a voice behind us. I turned around, watching as a group of Bombyx Mori soldiers ran towards out position.

"O, the Bombyx guys! I hope they brought snacks. Hey, did you bring any snacks." Asked Neptune.

"Neptune, now is NOT THE TIME!" I said, taking a step back before looking at the girl the soldiers were chasing. "Care to explain why you have the armed guard after you?"

"Ugh, they caught up with me…" The girl said.

"You! You're the reason Lady Filyn acts so weird! You're gonna pay!" Said the Soldier, as two other goons ran up behind him.

"You're the enemy of the Bombyx Mori!" Shouted another.

"Our orders are to bring you back alive… but we all know that's not going to happen." Said a soldier in familiar guard to the Captain from earlier, so I'll just be assuming he's another captain then.

"Why are they so mad? What did you do?" Asked Neptune, leaning over towards the girl.

Suddenly, a blue glow hummed off the gold highlights of the book. I looked down at the book, a confused expression on my face. "Hey, is this thing supposed to do this?"

"Shoot! Give me that!" Said the girl, tearing the book from my hands before quickly pocketing it.

"Ah-hey!" I said, before looking over to my right, watching as the girl on the hovering robot appeared again. "And then there's this thing…"

"Hoyo? There's the target! Come on, time to bring you in. For Lady Filyn!" Shouted Ester Zira.

"Damn it! The last person I want to see right now!" Said the girl in annoyance.

"Chocoman, prepare to attack! Vrroooooooom!" Exclaimed Ester Zira.

"Rgh…" The girl grunted, before turning and running. "Hey, Nep…!"

We stood there as the soldiers and Ester Zira passed us in chase of the girl. Neptune wore a confused expression on her face. "Hm… I don't get what's going on…" Said Neptune. "I think I should just head back to base."

"Yeah, we're not doing that." I said, as Neptune looked over to me in confusion. "That book is the reason I'm here, and I'm not letting this chance to find out why move past me."

"What do you mean the book is the reason?" Asked Neptune.

"Okay, so when my hand touched the book, my memories came back. And I'm pretty sure this isn't my dimension." I said.

"What? You're from a different dimension!?" Asked Neptune.

"Look, can I finish?" I asked. "Anyways, I had found a book almost eerily similar to that one that girl had. I picked it up, and the next thing I new the pages were flying out and I was getting sucked into a wormhole to another dimension."

"Ooh…" Neptune said.

"So I have my reasons, and you have yours to come along too." I said.

"Huh?" Neptune asked in confusion.

"You're not the LEAST bit curious on how she knows you?" I asked.

"Well, of course I am," Neptune said. "But I also want to say you've been explaining so long they've already left our sight."

I turned around to find that, yes they had. "Well, shit." I surmised. "...Might as well head to the base then… I guess."

* * *

"Oogh… It's so hot in here!" Neptune said in discomfort.

"We're in a volcano, and you're wearing a hoodie… What did you expect?" I asked, walking up next to her. "But seriously, a volcano? Why would you ever chose to make your base of operations here? Their base better have some serious air conditioning if they chose this as the surrounding area…"

"We're not about to fight a boss are we?" Asked Neptune. "Well, if we deal with it now, we won't get killed instantly by a crimson dragon later."

"You forget I don't have a weapon on me." I said.

"Semantics!" Neptune said, pushing onward.

"Why do I even bother half the time?" I asked myself for what was probably the millionth time since I left earth.

* * *

The volcanic atmosphere was grueling. I was glad I was wearing a plain white T-shirt the day I got abducted, but not so in other areas, considering the sweat dripping off me was most likely turning the shirt see through.

But we were getting close to the base, if the two soldiers talking about their boss Lady Filyn were a giveaway.

"The kid… I mean, Lady Filyn… She's a very wise leader." Said a female soldier. "Beautiful, too!"

"Did you not know blowing in a cartridge before playing it is a folk remedy for bad luck?" Asked the male soldier opposite of her.

"Paix St. Gliss' 16-shot can destroy buildings instantly!" Said the female soldier. "The three musketeers is too on the nose, isn't it? How about… the Gold Third?"

I let out a quick snort at that, but contained myself a moment later. I turned around to see Ester Zira hover over to us, before landing on the ground. "She got away again!" Said Ester Zira.

"You're back! No luck, huh?" Neptune said, to which I let out a sigh.

"Eh? Oh! You two were with the target! You guys are the newbies, right?" Asked Ester Zira.

"Uh, yeah, that's us." I said. "That's Neptune and I'm Bryce."

Ester looked over at the two of us, before stopping as she looked at me. "Uh… Do you want a new shirt there buddy?"

I looked down to find that yes, the sweat had made my shirt quite see through. I looked up with a deadpan. "Yeah, that'd be appreciated."

The male soldier behind me shrugged his coat off and handed it to me. I took it in my hands before swinging it around by its colar, shrugging it on in a flourish. Not going to lie, it didn't look too bad.

"Anyways, Nice to meet ya, Bryce, Neps. Can I call you Neps?" Asked Ester Zira, to which Neptune nodded. "Hey, can I ask you guys something?"

"Sure, what's up?" I asked.

"Our little target was chummy with you, right? How do you know her?" Asked Ester Zira as she looked at Neptune.

"What? I don't know her…" Said Neptune.

"It's possible your target knows Neptune, but considering amnesia is a thing Neptune has, she doesn't know her in kind." I explained.

"She seemed to think you were pretty important, Neps." Said Ester Zira.

"You think so?" Neptune asked, before chuckling. "Hehe, well… I am pretty cute."

"I did think that, too. Hey… I have a really good idea." Said Ester Zira.

"You do?" Asked Neptune, sounding a little excited.

"Yeah! I'll call it… the Nep Lure! You're gonna be the bait!" Said Ester Zira.

"...I don't like where this is going." I muttered.

"We'll leave you out in the wild until she shows up! It's only a teeny bit dangerous." Said Ester Zira.

"I don't like this! Not one bait!" Said Neptune. "I mean bit!"

"Aw, but it's for Bombyx Mori. Come on, newbie. Don't you wanna make us proud?" Asked Ester Zira.

"N-no thanks! I think I'm too new! Can't I be reassigned to the snack cart?" Asked Neptune.

"Eh? Do we have a snack cart?" Asked Ester Zira. "I guess you can be a snack for the monsters. Great!"

"How can you say that!?" Neptune asked, moving closer to me. "Bryce, say something!"

"Uh… she might need backup?" I supplied unhelpfully.

"Not what I meant!" Neptune yelled.

"Alright, grab them both then! Let's go!" Said Ester Zira.

"Yes Ma'am!" Said the two soldiers.

"Agh! This is so unfair!" Said Neptune.

"Alright, enough of this!" I said shrugging off the female soldier before slamming my elbow into her face, knocking her back. "Neptune, to me!"

"Got it!" Neptune shouted, rolling under a lunge from the male soldier.

"Aww, come on guys! Don't make this difficult!" Said Ester Zira.

"No, I think I very much would like to make this difficult!" I said, tensing up as the Soldiers surrounded us. "By the way, I'm keeping the jacket!"

"But that's my favourite jacket!" The soldier who had gave me his jacket exclaimed.

"Neptune, get behind me!" I said. "I hope this works…"

I threw my left hand forwards, palm facing Ester Zira with my fingers arched back as I pushed on that familiar force. I felt it slowly bubble to the surface, before dying down instantly.

"...Eh, you having problems Bryce?" Asked Neptune.

"Give me second…" I said, jerking my arm forwards again, only for the same thing to happen. "Oh please don't be what I think it is…"

I looked at the palm of my hand, trying to summon the holographic CPU Memory that let me tap into my HDD, but the best I achieved was a flickering image of the crystal for about two seconds before it faded completely.

"Shit." I said, looking back up at the soldiers. "Okay, plan B!"

"What's plan B?" Asked Neptune.

"Uh… Attack!" I said, getting into a combat stance and charging forwards, catching one of the Soldiers off guard. He pulled out his sword and swung at me, but it was slower than some of the other things I've had to dodge normally, so I just ducked low as the blade soared over my head. I came back up, grabbing onto his arm before slamming my forarm into his elbow, breaking his arm at the joint as he dropped his sword. I then proceeded to kick his left kneecap, knocking him off balance, before turning with the motion and sent a punch to the back of his head, sending him down to the ground. "That… went easier than I expected it too…"

"Is that even legal!?" Neptune cried out, drawing my attention as I looked up to see Ester Zira with what appeared to be a freaking missile!?

"Sonnuvabitch!" I shouted, taking a few steps back before jumping and flipping backwards, the missile impacting the ground a few feet away from me. I felt the force of the explosion wash over me as my hands landed on the ground, giving me ample opportunity to do a handspring and launch myself away from the aftershocks.

I slid to a stop as I looked down at myself in confusion. That… was really easy. Like, stupid easy to do. I ignored the battle a few feet away from me and jumping in place, finding to my surprise that I was actually jumping higher than normal.

"And I'm faster too… Is gravity lower here?" I asked in confusion, before shaking my hand as I ran to join up with Neptune.

"Good work lasting this long, Newbies! You've earned a round of applause!" Said Ester Zira, clapping with her robot's giant hands. "But we've now arrived at the end of Neptune the Hero and…"

"Bryce the…"

I let out a sigh, before shrugging. "The…" I looked to Neptune for a moment before looking back at Ester Zira with a shrug. "Mysterious Prophet?"

"And Bryce the Mysterious Prophet!" Said Ester Zira with a nod.

"Prophet? I don't see you giving me any tales of the future…" Neptune said.

"Give me a bit to find that book from earlier and I think I'll fit the role just fine…" I muttered.

"Alright, taking you both down now!" Said Ester Zira, before four cards flew past my head and slammed into Ester Zira, stopping her in her tracks. "Hoyo?"

"What are you doing!?" Asked a voice as I turned my head to see the girl with silver hair, the one from earlier, and the one who had that damned book, run in front of me.

"Huh? It's you!" Said Neptune in recognition.

"It's the target! Did the bait strategy really work!? I'm so amazing!" Said Ester Zira with a smug look on her face.

"Yeah, I don't think that's what worked…" I muttered, before looking at the girl with a thankful expression. "Thanks, I don't know how much longer we'd be able to hold them off for."

"Neptune! ...Um, You! Focus! Concentrate on the enemy!" Said the girl, looking from Neptune to Me before looking back at the enemy, purple cards with gold trimming held in her hands like that was her weapon.

"Roger!" Neptune said, getting back into her stance.

"Uh, yeah, You're the boss I guess!" I said, raising my fists once more.

"Freeze!" Shouted the girl, throwing her cards forwards at the group of soldiers. There was an impact, and then two moments later a pillar of ice exploded outwards, knocking the Soldiers off their feet.

"Holy shit!" I shouted. "You can DO that!? Where do I learn that!?"

"Focus!" Shouted the Girl.

"Yeah Yeah!" I said, dodging to the side before kicking one of the soldiers in the face and followed up with a spin kick, knocking her off balance towards the floor. I dropped into a roll when I landed and sprung up to my feet, throwing a punch at another Soldier's face, before grabbing the back of his head and bringing my knee up, both breaking his nose and knocking him out.

"Time to show off the Hero's power!" Shouted Neptune, before she charged forwards at the Soldiers. "I'll save the world! And I _WILL_ defeat you!" Neptune swung her sword forwards, knocking back one of the Soldiers, before she pulled back her sword, as purple energy seemed to charge up. "Get ready… for the Hero Blade!" Neptune thrust her blade forwards, as a beam of energy pulsed out and knocked the oncoming group of soldiers back. She hopped back towards us, giving me a fist bumb as we got back into fighting positions.

"Ugh! Just get captured already!" Shouted Ester Zira.

"Uh, No!" I said.

"Someone's persistent!" Said the girl, holding out her hand as cards danced in front of her palm before a blast of what seemed to be white smoke engulfed Ester Zira.

"L-Lady Ester!" Shouted one of the Soldiers.

"Alright, you two. This is our chance to escape!" Said the girl. "Stay close to me!"

"Got it! Let's get moving, Neptune!" I said.

"R-right!" Responded Neptune as the three of us ran away from the previous battleground.

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait! Give me a sec!" Neptune said as we slowed to a stop.

"We don't have time for that! We have to keep moving!" Said the girl.

"But I can't walk anymore! Can we take a break? Please!" Neptune pleaded.

"Good Grief. Well, keep it short. We'll be fine for a little while." Said the girl.

"Phew, I'm beat! No thanks to Bombyx Mori… Ugh." Neptune grimaced. "I thought they were the good guys…"

"Depends on how you look at it, but being an amnesiac will get your perception of reality all twisted at first." I said.

"This must be the fate of a hero…" Neptune said.

"That's more the beginning of a Hero's fate, not the ACTUAL fate of a hero, you know…" I sighed. "Well, whatever."

"I told you two not to get involved with them." Said the girl.

"In our defense, we were kinda involved the moment we woke up this morning." I said.

"But… the snacks…" Neptune said, to which I facepalmed. "No money, no memories, sure. But how do you expect me to live without the munchies?"

"Our 'Hero' everybody! Apparently can be bought out by snacks…!" I said, shaking my head with a shrug.

"Listen… Neptune…" The girl began.

"Hey, it's not fair that you know my name and we don't know yours!" Said Neptune, before she blinked. "Wait, do you know his name as well?"

"No I don't think she does." I said. "Let's just do the introductions now then. That's Neptune, as you know, and I'm Bryce, Bryce Bridged. You are…?"

"It's Chrome." Said the now identified Chrome. "Okay, listen, I understand what you're going through, I do, but…"

"Ah, the mysterious one who knows me more than I know myself! Are you friend or foe?" Asked Neptune.

"I'm pretty sure I'm friend in that department…" I said off to the side.

"Excuse me what?" Asked Neptune. "So you know me too?"

"...Not… Exactly the words I'd use…" I said, looking off to the side.

"Okay, seriously, calm down and listen to me, Neptune." Said Chrome.

"But I'm hungry… Maybe I should just go back to Bombyx Mori…" Said Neptune in what I assumed to be a sly tone of voice. "They do have snacks."

"I… don't think they'd give you food anyways Neptune." I said. "Besides, the last time you brought up the snack cart they said they didn't have one."

"Fooey!" Neptune pouted at my logic.

"Alright, I get it. I'll feed you. Let's head back to the Tavern." Said Chrome.

"Oh, really? I mean, if it isn't too much trouble… Yippee!" Neptune cheered to herself, jumping up a bit.

"You haven't changed a bit…" Chrome said with an almost nostalgic look on her face.

"There's really no difference, is there…" I muttered to myself, before looking up. "Dammit… I might be a while getting back guys…"


End file.
